Beautiful Disaster
by soulandspirit
Summary: Alternate Version of Season 5: what if Nathan hadn't changed after Haley's ultimatum? "One more night like this Nathan and I promise you you will have nothing!" How will he struggle to have his family back? NO Nanny Carrie.
1. Somewhere Only We Know

**Hey! So, before reading the first chapter of the story, I'd just like to say that I'm new at this thing of fanfics. I wrote lots of stories but up until now I've only published one of them all and OTH is something difficult to write about! LOL.**

**As you all know, I'm a Naley addict, I love them 100% and as all Naley lovers, I hated season 5. That all storyline with Crappy Carrie (sweet nickname) was just awful and oh so ugh! But I actually think that the entire Nathan crisis in the first episodes of the season would have been a great storyline for Nathan/ Haley and Jamie. Because face it, it would be powerful (you all know it was powerful and we've only seen 4/5 episodes about that) and Joy and James totally rocked at it. So, and therefore, I thought: what if Nathan had never changed after Haley's ultimatum? _"One more night like this, Nathan, and I promise you you will have nothing!" _What would have happenned? This is my story, this is my AU Naley season 5. Hope you enjoy it!**

"**Bonus Track": No Nanny Carrie!!**

Four months. Haley had never thought this would happen. She expected this from everybody. But not Nathan. Not the man she loved. Not the man she'd married. Not the only man to whom she gave her heart deliberately, completely and unconditionally. Not the man who was the father of her child. Not the man that promised he'd always be there for her, who'd always protect her. Not the man that every single day said that he loved her. Not the man that made her the happiest woman in this entire planet. Four months. Haley just figured that's how long it takes to Nathan lose himself. Lose the man he used to be. Lose the man she loved.

_I said I don't need your help! It's already hard for me to see me like this! Just go away!_

She heard them. She heard the echos of four months full of the same mindless speech. She dunk her head on the pillow. She wanted it to stop. It was too much pain for her to handle.

_I bet you're thinking how I'm such a loser. __You are, aren't you?_

She looked at the clock. 2:30 am. The bed was so huge without him. But she would never get used to it. That bed. That same bed where he told her while making love to her that he could not live without her. That no matter what he would never let go of her. The memories came and she felt the tears fall through her face and that was something that she was getting used to. Every single night she cried, the pillow swallowing up her tears. A sharpen noise coming from downstairs made her realize that he was doing it again. He was breaking and throwing all his trophies. His trophies… They meant more to him than her and her son. Just thinking of Jamie and how he was reacting to his father's behaviour made her spill more tears. He was just a child. How was he supposed to understand it? To understand this? And suddenly he was climbing her bed, trying to find some safety in her mother's arms. All the noise and the yells scared him, the strange lack of attention from his dad scared him. She hugged him tightly. He was her life. And so was Nathan. She couldn't stop loving him. She knew it. And that was the problem. Attending to his behaviour in the last months it was more than clear to her that he didn't love her anymore. That he erased them. He loved basketball, that was the only thing he'd ever loved. And even though that was consuming her, killing her, she'd found the courage. The courage to tell him that she couldn't be like this anymore. That he had to change. He had to become the man she fell in love with.

"_One more night like this, Nathan, and I promise you you will have nothing!"_

She warned him, made him an ultimatum. And she wasn't going to take it back. But that didn't seem to affect him. He was still doing what became usual every night: he was drinking and destroying everything in the house that made him remember the old Nathan Scott. Suddenly, she felt her left hand was a little wet. Her hand which was resting in her son's cheek. He was crying. Her baby was crying. She kissed his forehead and hugged him with all her strengths. "Shhh. Momma's here." She was there but she was also crying. How did he dare to do this? He could hurt her whenever he wanted to, but hurt her son, _his_ son… Oh, that was not going to happen. She would not let him do it.

The hours passed by and the noises were starting to stop. After all, he sleeps too. That or he was unconscious with all the alcohol in his blood. She didn't sleep for even an hour. But that was okay, she was getting used to it. When the sun lightened up the room, she knew this was it. This was the moment. If he was reacting the exact same way, she would leave. With their son, with _her_ son.

Haley got up from bed cautiously to not wake Jamie up and she went take a shower. That was now the best part of her day, the hot water would always calm her down, as far as possible.

After the shower, she got dressed up and went downstairs. _Please, Nathan, don't ruin this. Please, please say you were wrong, say you are sorry. _She didn't want to lose him; she'd been praying the rest of the night, asking for his change. She entered the living room. It was the same. He was lying on that damn couch and all the freaking bottles were everywhere around the floor. She could already feel the tears in her eyes, but somehow, she managed to control herself.

"Nathan." He slowly opened up his eyes and looked at her. But just like he had been doing for four months, he ignored her and closed his eyes again. She just wanted to slap him, to shake him and tell him how much of a selfish little jerk he was being. Instead, she cried.

"I… I told you that if you spent one more night like this you'd have nothing, Nathan. And I'm serious! Whether you start acting again like a husband and like a father right now or you'll never see me again!" she hated to say it, God she hated to get to this point! What was he doing?! And he didn't even flinch! She was telling that him that she would never be part of his life again and he had no reaction!

"Go. I guess you don't want to stay with a loser. You don't need me, Haley." What? She didn't need him? How could he be so blind?! She NEEDED him. Her son NEEDED him! That's why she was doing this! "And I don't need you." His words were like a thousand knives wounding her all over her body. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. She just felt. Felt the pain in her stomach. The pain in her heart. He'd just said it. _I don't need you._ She cried like there was no tomorrow. "No! I… I didn't mean that, Haley." Too late. He'd already said it.

"I can't… I can't do this! I don't deserve this, Nathan! And neither does Jamie!" she was yelling at the top of her lungs, letting out all her feelings. Everything she's been feeling in the last four months. "Just forget you ever had a wife. Forget I ever existed!" and she walked away. And he didn't follow her. With all the tears blurring her vision, she climbed up the stairs. Jamie was sitting on the bed, with his little hands covering his ears. She picked him up, the tears never ceasing. "Let's go, baby." She didn't care about clothes, there would be plenty time to get them. All she could think about was leaving that house, that air that was suffocating her. She quickly headed to the front door and she could see Nathan's eyes on her and Jamie. He was afraid, she could still see that, but he'd made it pretty clear. He didn't need his wife, didn't need his son. Jamie looked up at his daddy and waved at him. He thought he was just going out with his mom, buy some new toys and eating some ice-cream, maybe. Haley looked to Nathan and they stood there for seconds, looking into each other's eyes. She spilled some tears and with that, she opened the door. And she looked again at Nathan. His gaze was still on them. Knowing he wasn't going to do anything, she walked out of the door and closed it. And he didn't stop her. He cried, and cried, and yelled and put his hands on his face. It was official: he had nothing.


	2. Feather In The Wind

**Before the next chapter, I'd just like to thank everyone for the reviews! They completely made my day(s)! Thank you very much for the support :) And I'd also like to apologize for the late update, I'm so sorry! I tried to upload sooner but I've lots of school work right now (I'm a senior in highschool and here in Portugal we've lots of stuff to do!). I'll try my best to update sooner though. Thank you! And sorry for any verbal mistake or something like that, I do try to write everything without any flaws. Please review and tell what you think!**

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"Where are we going, momma?" Jamie asked, making Haley's gaze return to him. Since she'd enter her car, she hadn't been able to do anything else but stare at the wheel. She didn't want to do this. She couldn't leave him, damn! He was her husband, for better or worse, in sickness and health!

_I don't need you._

But he was the one who started it. He was the one who messed everything up. He was the one who turned his back at them. He was the one who quit.

"We're going to somewhere else, sweetie." She smiled at his son, not wanting to explain him where they were really going or _why_ they were going. She glanced at their house one last time and unconsciously she turned on the car. This was it, he definitely wasn't going to stop her. And she left the driveway. Leaving him behind.

He'd wanted to stop her. While he was watching her and his son inside the car, the curtains hiding his figure, he'd wanted to stand up, run to them and tell them how much he regretted everything he'd done to them. But he couldn't. He was such a freak now that he couldn't even stand up! He couldn't even run, damn, he couldn't even walk! He took another sip on the now familiar vodka bottle. When he noticed there was nothing in it, he threw it to the floor. He looked at the tiny little broken glass pieces and he immediately started crying. Not because there was no more vodka, but because there was no more Haley, no more Jamie. He cried, yelled and groaned at the same time and although he didn't want to he knew the neighbours were going to hear him. "NO!!!" he started breaking everything he could: glasses, lamps, remotes, frames… In an impulse, he wheeled to the kitchen and after picking up a knife, he started to cut the couch, the feathers flying through the living room. "NO!!!" One stab. "NO!!!" another. "NO!!!" One more time.

Knock. Knock.

"Haley, can I come in?" Haley grabbed a new tissue as soon as she heard Lucas' voice.

"Yeah." When he opened the door he looked at her and knew she'd been crying. Carefully, and knowing her way too well, he sat right next to her on the bed.

"Peyton's playing playstation with Jamie." He knew he had to be extra careful and take things slowly. "I… I'm sorry, Hales." And with that, she started crying again, heavily. After all, Jamie was not there to see her like this, there was nothing to worry about. It was just Luke. And he'd seen her crying more than anyone else in the world. Knowing there was nothing he could say to fix her, he just hugged her, letting her know that he was there for her. Peyton was there for her. They were all there for her.

"Thank you, Luke. For letting us stay." She mumbled still in tears. He just hugged her tightly and they remained like that for hours.

_Go. I guess you don't want to stay with a loser._

He was the one not believing in himself. He was the one who always thought he was not enough. He was the one who'd always said she deserved better. He was the one who always thought he wasn't worthy of anything.

In an attempt to forget everything, Haley walked out of the bedroom Lucas had offered her to stay. Hmm, it smelt so good, something like a mixture of fried sauce with roast chicken. She was really hungry, with all this mess she'd even forgot to eat. And yeah, roast chicken was just great right now. Hoping it wasn't a hallucination, she walked to the kitchen where she saw Peyton cooking. _Thank God it's real!_, she thought.

"Hey. Do you need some help?" she said approaching Peyton, making her jump from the scare.

"Jeez Louise! You scared the hell out of me." Peyton was giggling, trying to push a smile from Haley's face. And she did it. Haley had a small and shy smile on her lips. Peyton knew it would take some time to see her laughing and smiling, but it was a good start.

"I'm sorry. Anyway, what're you cooking?"

"Why don't you come here and see by yourself?"

"_Why don't you come here and see by yourself?"__ Haley approached him, resting her arms around his waist and just when she was about to see what he was cooking, he managed to give her a sweet kiss on the lips._

"_Nathan!" he had already turned around and started kissing her passionately. "You know, next time you don't need to use an excuse to kiss me, you can just ask me. Then, maybe, I will make your wish come true…" she said while kissing him back._

"_Maybe, huh?" he started kissing her neck. "I don't think you'd be able to resist me…" Haley moaned in response, whatever she had to say wasn't nearly as important and good as what he was doing right now._

"_Nathan." He already knew what she meant with that._

"_Relax. The boy's out with Lucas." He continued his ministrations on her neck and just when she was about to unbutton his jeans, he screamed. "Damn! The sausage's burning!"_

"_I can see that…" she said, still remembering how hard he was. Nathan looked at her and started laughing._

"_Not that… This one." He said, while taking the actual sausage from the frying-pan. She blushed so much that made the tomato resting on the counter look pale. After finishing his task, Nathan hugged her from behind, the trademark smirk on his face. "I love it when my girl talks dirty."_

"_Oh shush!" she said, giving him a smack on the shoulder. He kissed the back of her head and took a chance to smell her hair. _God, she smells so , I love it when he does that.

"_I love you, Hales. And nothing's ever going to change that." She smiled, it felt so good when he said things like that. He made her feel so loved and wanted._

"_I love you too."_

"Haley? Haley!" Peyton screamed to the hypnotized Haley in front of her. She'd told her to come and see what she was cooking and Haley had stopped on the way, completely dead on her tracks. "Haley!!" she shouted one last time and apparently, Haley reacted, completely confused.

"What?" she looked like she'd just awoken.

"You want to see what I'm cooking?" Peyton said, lifting the spoon in the air. Still a little numb, Haley approached enough to see what was going to be served at dinner.

"Roast chicken with onion sauce. It smells great, Peyton!" she said, trying to forget the flashback she had. Peyton thanked, never leaving Haley's eyes.

"You were thinking about him, weren't you?" Haley turned her head to the floor and that was the most obvious answer she could have give her. With one hand, Peyton raised her chin and after that, she grabbed her hands.

"Haley, like I told you earlier: it's okay to remember him. But I want you to know none of this is your fault. And I want you to remember that Nathan loves you and Jamie, no matter what he said, you know that, I know that and everybody knows that. But right now, we have to cheer you up!"

"And how do we do that?"

"Well, first, it might help if we start doing this…" she said, cleaning up the tears from Haley's cheeks. "And then… Well it's supposed to be a surprise and I'll beat your ass if you tell Lucas I told you but… he told me he wants us to go to the theatre tonight." Haley was actually very happy, it was something so common and simple but she'd missed that. Even these small family moments. A simple theatre. She smiled at Peyton, knowing Jamie would freak out with the news.

"That's great, Peyton. Thank you. I promise I'll act surprised when Lucas tells me!" Now it was Haley's turn to hug Peyton.

"You're welcome. Now hurry up and get ready for dinner!" the blonde said winking at the brunette.

"_Haley! Hurry up!! It's almost dinner time!__" he complained. It was such a sacrifice for Nathan to go shopping with his wife._

"_And since when do you have hours to eat?" Haley asked, trying to tease him._

"_Since now. Common'! We're in here for hours! I'm actually finding it very hard to breathe in here…" he said, while looking at his clock._

"_Aww… Poor little thing…" her hand caressed his cheek, the sarcasm evident on her words. "Do you think I'd look good in this?" she asked him, showing a gorgeous low-necked red top. Oh boy, how hot would she look with that thing on? _

"_More than good, baby!" Haley smiled and rolled her eyes. Men… And then she left. _What the hell?, _thought Nathan._

"_Where are you going?", he asked, grabbing her by the wrist._

"_Nathan, I'm going to the cabin, try this and see if it suits me…" he was swearing right now that this was the last time he went shopping with her! _

_As soon as Haley entered the cabin, she felt Nathan behind her. "What… are you doing here?" she laughed, she didn't expect this, not when he was so bored…_

"_I want to see you in it." _

"_Ok." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and started to remove her shirt and bra. Oh boy, Nathan, control yourself, control yourself, control yourself. His gaze was intensely fixed on her wife's bare breasts. _

"_What time is it?" she asked while trying to take the top out of the peg. Looking at her jiggling breasts, his eyes narrowed._

"_Get-laid-in-a-cabin o'clock!" and he attacked her, lifting her up on the wall, kissing her skin._

"_Nathan!" she whispered. "You do know the consequences this might have, don't you?"_

"Momma! You should have seen uncle Lucas! He was asked for an autograph!!" Jamie yelled as soon as he entered Lucas' apartment. That boy… He was the best part of her. And _he_ was too. She opened up her arms and her son almost threw her down.

"Whooa!"

"And then the girl said he was hot!" Haley laughed while Lucas scratched his head. "Which was weird because it was a bit cold, actually…" this time, they all laughed at Jamie's innocence.

"Oh sweetie, she had no idea what she was saying…"

"Hey!" yelled Lucas but Haley just smiled at him.

"Now you, mister, go wash your hands and get ready for dinner!" she pushed Jamie to her and they shared their familiar Eskimo kiss. What she wouldn't give to share moments like these with Nathan.

_And now I'm nothing!_

But he was the one who ignored his wife. He was the one who ignored his son. He was the one who ignored himself.

He was trying to find a way. A way of climbing the stairs without getting hurt. He needed to feel her. Having a new idea, he wheeled to the living room, grabbing the only frame he hadn't broken. And he also needed the crutches Haley had bought, those that several times he'd refused to use. Returning to his previous actions, he placed the frame with the picture on the little piece of furniture near the stairs. He had to get upstairs, he had! Fixing his eyes on the picture, he tried to get up slowly. He knew he could stand up, he just preferred the wheelchair, it was so much easier and comfortable. But he could do this, the doctors said themselves.

"Come on, come on!" he was so frustrated with himself that he yelled at his legs. It hurt a little; after all he hadn't been like this in four months. "AH!" he shouted when he fall back to the wheelchair. "Damn it!" _If only she was here…_ Not giving up and still focused on the frame, he tried one more time. First the right leg, then the left one and now he only had to put his arms on the crutches and stand up. "That's it! Come on! Easy…" and with one last glance at the frame and after all the pain, he was finally up. He was finally up! "I am up!" he laughed, not believing in what just happened "I am up!! I AM UP!!" He took the frame in his hand and a sincere smile crossed his features. What an amazing day that had been…

"_Here?" asked Haley__ with the picnic basket._

"_No, momma! I like it better here!" yelled Jamie just a few inches away from her mother._

"_Jamie, it's all the same grass, son!" replied Nathan, spreading the towel so Haley could rest the basket. They all sat on the grass, Haley pulling Jamie to her lap and Nathan resting his arm around his wife._

"_So, we have bacon sandwiches and… pizza!" Haley knew Jamie would love it. The boy was just like his father, even in the food department! They all started to eat, enjoying their family day._

"_This place is beautiful. How did you find this?" Haley just leaned on Nathan and rested her head on his chest._

"_Remember that game I was gone for the entire week, a month ago? Well, I was on the bus and we just passed on the road up there but I could see how beautiful this was. And in that moment I thought we all had to come here." He answered, putting a stray of hair behind her ear. _

"_I like it. It's nice when we leave Tree Hill to visit new stuff..." Jamie said, giving a little bite on his pizza. But, suddenly, the little boy got up, taking a mushroom of his pizza and approached his hand to the cage right next to his mom._

"_Jamie, sweetie, rabbits don't eat mushrooms!" Haley and Nathan looked at each other, proud of their son unintentional goofiness and laughed._

"_I still have to find a name for him, we already bought him a few hours ago and I still don't know how to call him..." Her boy was so sweet, their boy… With that, Haley just snuggled in Nathan's chest._

"_You love my chest, don't you?"_

"_I love your chest.", she replied in the same tone._

"_Chest… What about… Chester?!" Jamie yelled and his parents laughed as hard as they could. They were not expecting __**that**__ was their son's inspiration for his rabbit's name. Nathan got up while Haley was still contemplating their son's victory dance._

"_I like it!" Haley ruffled his hair and the little boy was so happy that he threw himself on his mom and the two collapsed on the grass._

"_Nice!" Nathan yelled, with his camera recording everything. Haley was now tickling Jamie and he tried to tickle his mom on the neck; the giggles from both of them echoing in the park. _

"_Ahhh!" Haley opened her mouth in shock. "Daddy's recording us!" she said looking at Jamie and the little man just laughed, hugging his mother. Nathan took the opportunity and captured the moment. Wow, that was officially the picture of his life._

_Never stopping recording, Nathan sighed. He knew one day he would have a smile on his face while looking back at those pictures and footage. _

"I'm going to make it." He said looking at his wife and son hugging each other.

Gaining new strengths he started to climb the stairs. It was a hard thing to do; he'd never used crutches before. But after several minutes, he was finally upstairs, in their bedroom. Needing to feel Haley, he went to the closet and grabbed her clothes. God, he needed her, he needed her smell. So he closed the gap between his nose and her clothes and he sniffed them as hard as he could. "God!" he started to cry. "Haley!" That scent… Her scent… That amazing scent that would always drive him crazy… "Haley!" the tears were rapidly running through his cheeks. "What have I done?!"

She was looking at the ceiling of the bedroom. Her son was fast asleep; without his father throwing things away and yelling, he had no problem to fall asleep. She wished she could be like him. But she wasn't. Even without Nathan's presence, she still couldn't sleep. It was all there: the tears, the echoes and the memories.

_Always and forever, Haley. I promise you that._

He was the one who loved her.


	3. As Long As I Try

**Hey! I hope you all had a fantastic Easter! Monday I'll be going back to school and that means less time to write, but as always, I'll try to update soon. The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll UD. So, please review and tell me what you think! I'm so grateful for all the ones that do review so I wanted to say thank you, because if it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't have the strenght to continue the story. Thanks! Anyway, I've made an effort to write longer chapters, so let me know if this lenght is okay or if you want it longer, please. **

**Thanks for your time, enjoy!**

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She never thought it would be so hard. Just looking at that house made her eyes tear. She could still feel it: the joy, the happiness and the love her husband showed when they bought it. Their house, their first house, their first real family house… He said it was going to be a whole new start, a new beginning. God, how wrong he'd been… Whole new start? How can that be if he did what he did? A new beginning? How can that be if it all ended? Their love's ended. There was no way out. She would love him forever, but that just wasn't enough. He didn't love her, he didn't need her. That was it. She'd been gone for one week now and he hadn't done absolutely nothing. Not even a phone call… He was probably drunk, sleeping in that hideous couch feeling sorry for himself.

With the help of his wheelchair, he walked to the kitchen. He needed something to drink so he picked up the new bottle of vodka. He knew he didn't need his wheel chair anymore. He knew he shouldn't be drinking. But damn! She'd been gone for one week now and she hadn't done absolutely nothing. Not a phone call or even a visit… That was enough for him to return to his previous behavior. Haley didn't love him anymore, the fact he even thought he could change and win her heart again was a joke. He was a joke. His son was afraid of him, his wife left him. He was a miserable man. And if he was miserable, he had the right to feel like it and to show the world how miserable he was. And suddenly and once again the wheelchair and the alcohol became his best friends. He took a sip on the vodka, the alcohol burning his throat deeply. He closed his eyes, trying to find some pleasure in the fire that was draining inside him. Just when he was about to take another sip, he heard a noise. A noise that really looked like a door shutting. And it was coming from the outside. He put his hands frantically on the wheels and looked over the window. The bottle hit the ground, the noises of the glass crashing into the floor being the only sound in the entire house. That and Nathan's heavy breathing. He was so shocked that the bottle slipped out of his hand.

'He's still throwing bottles all over the place…', Haley thought to herself and stopped. Did she really want to enter in her own house? Because she knew she couldn't handle anymore of that. She played with the keys in her hands, looking at them for some seconds.

"No! No!" he said, increasing his speed and walking off the living room. There was no way she could see that mess. So and after some struggling, he managed to close the tab separating the living room from the entrance hall and waited her to come in. He had so much to tell her. He was so happy to see her! His mood changed completely, he'd show her how he didn't need his wheelchair anymore! He'd tell her that every night he slept with her clothes and pillow by his side! He'd apologize for everything he'd done! Oh and maybe she'd like to see that he's out of the couch! He'd say everything he could to make her and Jamie come back home! He'd cut his hair and beard! He'd show them how much they mean to him, how they are his everything! He couldn't believe she was there, she was there to see him! She still loved him!

Looking intensely at her keys, she lifted her head, her gaze moving to the entrance door. She'd already heard two sharpened noises coming from the inside.

He still couldn't believe she was there and unable to control himself, he started crying, not managing to control the happy groans to escape from his mouth.

And that was it for Haley. She was now hearing his desperate gasps and it was clear for her that he hadn't changed a bit, he was still feeling a loser and destroying everything that he could. She would enter the house and he'd give her the same speech, he'd say to her how much he felt sorry for himself, how much she laughed of him on his back, how pathetic he was in her eyes. And she wouldn't be able to take that. Not again and not after several times. 'I can't do this'. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and turned around, getting back to her car. Without thinking twice, she put the key on the ignition.

'Why is she taking so long?' and then he heard the sound of a car. And he felt the hard pain through all his body: his heart ached so much that breathing became an issue, he felt like his stomach had been kicked really hard. And now the tears were falling again, but this time they were far from being tears of happiness. She hadn't been there for him, after all she didn't love him. How stupid was he?! Of course she'd come over sometimes, but not for him. It'd never be for him! Not anymore! She'd come over because that was still her house, too. Who was inside the house didn't matter to her. And it was all his fault…

She couldn't believe she hadn't had the courage to come in. She'd been there to pick up some clothes. At least, that was what she said to everybody, but the truth is that she wanted to see him. She wanted to help him. She wanted him to be hers again. She wanted to see him out of that couch, out of that wheelchair… But she'd lost her hopes when she heard all those familiar sounds. He was doing it all over again. What else could he be doing? And all the anger, all the foul mood occupied her soul. And it was all his fault…

After opening the tab, he got out of the wheelchair and lay down on the couch, the feathers flying around when his body fall on it. Everything was normal again: he was a poor guy again, the injured former basketball player that was the most unlucky person in this world. And he didn't intend to move from that couch anytime soon.

"Haley James Scott, how ya doing girl?" Skills opened the door from his apartment with Jamie in his arms. The boy loved to spend some time with his uncle Skills and Haley had dropped him there before her attempt to go and check on Nathan. "

"Hey, momma, look! Uncle Skills gave me this!" Jamie said grabbing his huge red jersey. It was amazing how her son's smile could light up her day.

"Wow! Oh well _**wasn't that nice of him making you look all crunk**_? And what do you say?"

"Thanks, uncle Skills! Momma, can we go get some pizza? Please!!" Damn his baby face, so cute and sweet. How could she say no to that? Besides, she really wanted to do anything she could to make up for him. She knew how hard this whole "Why's daddy so sad?" was being to him. It was affecting Jamie as much as it was affecting her. But he was a kid, he didn't know what it really meant. And what she wouldn't do to be like that…

"Hmm… I'm going to think about it…" She'd already gave in but she wanted to play around a little with him.

"Please, momma, say yes!" His baby blue eyes were gorgeous, just like his father's. She just sketched a smile and turned her gaze to Skills, picking up Jamie from his arms.

"Do you want to come with us, Skills?"

"Ah no, thanks. Bevin's coming over and we got to enjoy ourselves when Mouth isn't home!" Haley sent him a glare that left Skills slightly confused.

"I don't understand. How can you and Bevin enjoy yourselves?" Jamie asked making Haley's fears come true.

"Jamie, sweety, why don't you go call the elevator?" her boy was not understanding and when he didn't understand something, he'd make as many questions as possible until he got an answer. His eyes were Nathan's but that persistence was hers.

Jamie waved at Skills and went to call the elevator, her mother's requests were so much more important than his curiosities.

"So when are you bringing the kid back?", asked Skills as soon as Jamie was gone.

"Maybe on February 31 at never o'clock if you keep talking about you and Bevin enjoying yourselves…" She said, winking at him.

"Oh man, I'm sorry Hales, I swear I don't say those kind of things when he's around…"

"Momma! Pizza's waiting!" Jamie's voice echoed through the walls.

"Thank you for watching him and say hi to Bevin for me!" Haley started walking away but turned around when she heard Skills calling her.

"You know I'm here for you whenever you need me, don't you HJS?" She really had amazing friends, an amazing son… and she knew she had an amazing husband too. He just needed to awake and let his real him surface.

She looked seriously at Skills. "I do. Thank you."

"Where are we going, momma? I thought we had to turn right if we were going to the pizzeria…" Haley could tell the disappointment in her son's voice. He thought her mom had just tricked him and there was no more pizza for anyone. She chuckled a bit, little did he know where they were going…

"It's a surprise, Jamie. But I promise you we'll still be getting pizza, ok?" she assured him, winking at him.

"Are we going home? I miss daddy." Thank god she'd just stopped at a red traffic light, otherwise she would have crashed into the nearest tree. The way he had said those words. The way his eyes were screaming for his dad. It just broke her heart and all she wanted to do was to break down. But she couldn't. Not in front of her son. Instead, she just kept looking at him, moved with her son's confession. He obviously loved his dad, even though he was being scary lately. As soon as the light turned green, she fixed her eyes on the road. But her heart was still fixed in Nathan. In Jamie. In her family. And the place they'd just arrived wasn't going to help matters. When Jamie realized where he was, his face lit up completely. It had been way too long… Haley looked at his pleased face and smiled while unbuckling her belt and coming from inside the car so she could free her son too.

"The rivercourt!" Jamie said, completely in awe.

"So, I was thinking… Since it's a little early for dinner and pizza, what do you say if we hang out here a little bit, huh kiddo?" She asked her son, while opening the car's door and pulling him off his chair. Jamie loved going to the rivercourt and play basketball. But ever since the accident, Nathan stopped going with him.

Opening the trunk, Haley pulled out a ball and put it on Jamie's hands.

"I know I'm not exactly your father or uncle Lucas, but maybe I can play with you?" she was trying so hard… Trying to make her son happy, trying to make him remember how his life was before his daddy's accident. She'd do everything for him, I mean, she was willing to play basketball for him! Even though she _really_ sucked at it.

"Sweet!" Jamie shouted and then started dribbling the ball, running to the court.

"Whoa! I had no idea you were going to be so happy about it!" Haley said, joining him on the court, stealing him the ball.

"Of course I am. It's going to be good…"

"Really? Why?"

"Because I'm going to win." He said, emphasizing the "I'm going to win", pointing his little index finger to him. Haley laughed, knowing he was probably right.

"We'll see about that, huh?" she said, passing him the ball and he immediately tried to protect it with his petite body, but his mother's was a bit bigger than his.

"I'm going to win!" he was clearly mocking her.

"Oh really?" she said, successfully stealing him the ball. "Who's winning now?", she said dribbling the ball while running around him, the little boy trying to catch his mom.

"No one. No one scored yet, momma!"

"Well, just watch this, kiddo!" and she threw the ball, hoping it passed through the hoop. But instead, it fell a few inches away from her position. She should know her skills were not that good… Jamie was laughing hard, his giggles bringing a smile to her face. Instinctively, she ran towards him, grabbing him and started to tickle him.

"You think your mother stinks, don't you?" he managed to get out of her embrace and grabbed the basketball, running towards the other hoop and making the shot.

"I'm not allowed to lie, am I?" he said, the sweet smile on his face. She nodded, entering the game. "In that case, I think you're really good, momma!" she laughed one more time, God that was feeling so good, she never wanted to get out of there.

"Oh, thank you, son!" she replied sarcastically. "And I'm about to show you how good I really am!" she opened her eyes and started dribbling towards the hoop, but being a natural klutz, she accidently tripped in the ball and fall to the floor.

"Are you ok, momma?" Jamie asked, running to his mom.

"Yeah, I was just showing how good I am…"

"Well, I see it's true what they say: women and sports do not mix." She looked up towards the adult voice. "At least when the women are named Haley James…" She smiled when she saw the figure standing in front of her. Forgetting the light pain she was feeling in her knees, she got up and gave the man a hug.

"How are you, Coach?" she hadn't seen Whitey in a few months, ever since Nathan's depression.

"You know, I don't agree with those sayings, but clearly you're not contradicting them.", the old man said with a smile on his face. He then looked at Jamie who was trying to shoot some free-throws. "That boy gets bigger by the minute, huh?"

"Jamie!" she shouted, making him look to her and Whitey. When he saw the old man, his face turned into a huge smile.

"Blacky!" he screamed, running to Whitey.

"You know son, you're one hell of a kid, but if you don't stop calling me 'Blacky', I'm afraid I'll have to take measures…" ever since Jamie was a kid, and with their years together in Maryland, Whitey had taken care of him a few times. As soon as Jamie learned the names of the colors, he immediately started calling Whitey Blacky.

"It's funny!" Jamie said.

"I'll tell you what's funny… Now go make your shots!", Whitey said, putting him on the floor and like a bird whose cage had just been open, Jamie started running to the hoop, picking up the ball, while Haley and Whitey sat on the bench.

"So, how are you?" Haley asked. She really wanted to know what Whitey had been doing, in some way, she was ashamed she hadn't talked to him in so long.

"I'm old…"

"Oh Coach, you can't think like that…" she tried to comfort him.

"…and wise. You know , when Camilla died, I shut everyone else out of my life. I only wanted to be alone, I didn't understand why that had happened to her, why that had happened to me, to us… It is hard to let go of the person we love but you are the one to choose how many times you want to feel that pain." Haley looked at him in the eyes, she knew he was talking about her and Nathan, telling her how and why he was feeling that way. Just the thought of it made her eyes water. "He's not Dan, you know? No matter what he says or what he does. Deep down inside, he's nothing like Dan." She swallowed in dry, thinking about what he'd said.

"Well, he's not Nathan too… Not anymore." She looked intensely at him, a tear running down her cheek. "You know… he said he didn't need me."

Whitey was shocked, to say the least. How could that man say something like that to his wife, to his best part?

"_You called me, Coach?" Nathan was all sweat; the practice had completely worn him out. The bald man looked at him, putting his glasses on and smiled._

"_Yeah, I did. Take a sit." What had he done? Maybe he'd screwed up in the practice. He knew he'd made a few mistakes, but were they so bad to make him hear Whitey's lecture at him?_

_He sat down like Whitey asked, afraid of what he was going to say to him. He looked at his coach's face but it was unreadable. "Nathan, I just wanted to say how proud I am of you, son. When you asked me the last week if you could have one less practice than your teammates, I realized how much of a man you've become. Putting your family above basketball." Thank God it wasn't lecture, it was the pretty opposite thing, actually._

"_Thanks, coach. You know, I really want to be there for Haley and Jamie and I'll never put basketball above them. They're the two most important things in my life and… I just don't want to be like Dan. I don't want my son to feel all the things Dan made me feel. I want my son to feel needed. I want Haley to feel needed. Because I need them and I always will, no matter what happens. And I know that I'll never do anything to make them feel like they're not needed. Like they're not loved. They're my life, coach. And if I have to give up everything for them, I will." _

The memories of that day filled Whitey's mind. He knew then that Nathan was being honest, what he'd said was the truth, that had been the real Nathan talking.

"Like you said… That wasn't Nathan talking." He looked at her, her eyes sensible to everything he was saying. "Don't you forget everything the real Nathan said to you, Haley. That man still exists."

_I could love you forever._

_I will always be there for you, Haley. I will always protect you._

_You're my family now, Haley. The only true thing I have._

_I love you, Haley. I don't want to come this close to lose you ever again._

_And when I look into her eyes, I know I'll love her forever._

_Don't say I never gave you anything._

Whitey smiled at her and got up from the bench. "You're the best part of him. Fight for him and make him fight for you." He put on his cap and turned his back at her, walking away.

------

So, good, bad? Give me some feedback! :)


	4. This Is What Your Soul Looks Like

Haley entered her friends' with her son in her arms. After taking him to the pizzeria, she hadn't been able to refuse his adorable pout when he said he wanted to go to the theatre watch "that little old man whose house was flying with balloons". She knew she had to be strong and that she couldn't give in in everything he'd asked her, he'd end up being a spoiled little brat. But that was in normal circumstances. And they were so far away from normal… While she was opening the door, as silently as possible to not wake her sleeping son and Lucas and Peyton up, she realized once again she couldn't live like that. She couldn't annoy Lucas and Peyton anymore; she wasn't giving them the privacy they needed. They were getting married soon and she knew way too well how a soon-to-be married couple could act. Sure, the second time her and Nathan renewed their vows they made that all no sex pact but oh boy, that'd been the hardest time for her to play by the rules!

So she'd been thinking about it in the last few days, she just didn't know how to tell them.

"Hey" she heard a whisper coming from the hallway, while putting the keys back in her wallet.

"Hey Luke. I'm just going to put him in bed, he's sleeping like a rock." She responded, also in a whisper tone.

He knew how much she was hurt. Being backstabbed by her husband hadn't been easy. But her strength inspired him. The effort she was making for her son. That little boy was a lucky kid; her mother was willing to do everything for him. But that didn't stop the tears that every night he heard her spill.

He picked up two glasses and filled them with orange juice. Since they were kids that that juice meant they had to talk about something serious. And Lucas really wanted his best friend to open up to him. Since Nathan's accident she'd been building these huge walls around her and even though he knew it was a defensive mechanism, he was upset; he was her best friend, she was supposed to break those walls to him. But if she hadn't been able to do that, he was going to make sure he'd break them by himself.

"He didn't even open his eyes. I guess he got the whole 'sleep like a dead person' from me…" Haley said entering the kitchen which was completely dark, just the outside lamp enlightening the room. But she could still see the orange juice. _Oh crap! Orange juice... _

He looked at her disappointed face, acknowledging she still remembered what that meant.

"Hales, we need to talk…" he said pulling her down to sit on the chair. She now knew this was the perfect time to tell him.

"We do… Lucas, there's something I need to tell you." She said looking into his eyes. He wanted to talk first but she looked like she was going to open up to him so he didn't insist, he just nodded his head, telling her to go on. "I am so thankful to you and Peyton for letting me stay in and giving me all the support and help with Jamie…"

"But?" her tone was way too predictable.

"I'm going to rent some place just for me and Jamie." Her voice trembled with the words, she was afraid of what Lucas was going to think of her idea and his shocking face wasn't helping.

"Wh… What? Haley! There's no way we'll leave you two alone!" was she serious? What was she thinking?

"Luke, I love you and Peyton but I really need to do this. Please try to understand…" damn, she knew this was going to be hard, but she hoped he'd understand her.

"Understand what?" he wasn't mad. He was just disappointed to see her acting like this, like her marriage was completely over. Done. Dead.

"You guys need privacy and I don't want to cause any trouble between you two. I don't want to be another weight for you. And I know you're going to say that I never cause trouble or how I'll never be a weight and that makes me love you even more because I know you're a great friend and… "she stopped when she looked at his typical 'You're rambling' face. "The point is that I need to do this. For me and for Jamie. And even though I love being here with you, I know that this is not the kind of life I want to give him. Luke, he still has his clothes in that house, just like I do and I'm not even strong enough to enter there again because I'm afraid…" she started crying and Lucas immediately hugged her, her face resting on his chest. "…I'm afraid of my own husband, Luke."

"It's not your fault, Hales." He said, massaging her head. She then raised her head from his chest and tried to control herself, wiping the tears with her hands.

"I have to be strong for my son and if that means working twice as hard, if that means having two jobs or three or four, I'll do it. If that's the necessary for him to have his own room with his own toys and drawings, I'll do it. Please Luke, let me do this." Her brown eyes were shining in the dark and he knew how much she was willing to do for Jamie, to give him the life he deserved.

"I understand. I just…" he wasn't sure how to tell her this. "I just don't get it… Does this mean you're completely over him? Nathan?" her face fell. What? Did Lucas really think she stopped loving him, she forgot everything between them? The love they shared?

"No… I love him. I always will. But I need to know what he wants from me. I need to know who he's going to be in this. And until he finds that out and decides who he really wants to be, I'll be away from him. Because I cannot let him do that again to me or Jamie. But whenever he needs my help, I'll be there for him." Should he tell her? She had the right to know.

"You know, I went to see him today."

"_Wow. Does Haley know about this?" Lucas asked surprised looking at the couch where he was laying. Nathan looked worriedly at him._

"_No. And you're not going to tell her." _

"_Why did you do it?" Lucas asked pointing at the couch's new look. He really did not understand why his brother didn't want Haley to know about something like that..._

"_It's a reminder of what I lost and what I have to get back." Nathan answered with his left hand supporting his face. Lucas was so relieved to hear those words coming from his mouth. But he needed to make sure he was done with that. All of it._

"_You have to stop this, Nathan. The drinking, the way you're acting, everything. We know basketball was your dream, your life... But was it so important for you to ignore your own wife and son?" Nathan took his hand off of his face and looked intently at Lucas. "We get it, okay? You lost the one thing that has been with you for your entire life and God knows how much I love that game, just like you do. And guess what? I cannot play anymore. But I learnt something from that, Nate. Life is NOT basketball, there's so much more to it. And you know that when you look into the eyes of the woman you love or to the grace of your son... They're here for you. We all are." He hoped his words made Nathan realize what he was doing to their lives. Nathan looked down for a second, absorbing everything Lucas had said to him._

"_You really are a book writer." He said sarcastically. Lucas turned his back at him, pissed that his brother looked like a bi-polar. He had tried, there was nothing else he could do. At least today… So he decided to leave but stopped when he heard Nathan's shouts. "I know that, okay? I know that Haley and Jamie are my life." _

"_Then show it!" Lucas shouted back at him._

"_I can't! Haley doesn't want me anymore!" Nathan desperately replied, almost crying. Lucas was shocked. How could someone be so blind? She loved him to death, she always would. But that was not his place._

"_God, you really are an alcoholic..." was he too harsh? He wasn't going to say that Haley still wanted him; he'd have to figure out that by himself. It'd be a step of his comeback. _

_Lucas' words hurt him, but he soon realized he deserved them. He'd been treating people like crap for the last 4 months._

"_I am not an alcoholic!" he shouted and Lucas looked seriously at him. "I need to drink, but I can stop if I want to, I'm not addicted." _

"_Then prove it." Lucas knew Nathan wouldn't be able to stop drinking._

"_I will." And with that, Nathan got up from the couch, with the help of his crutches which left Lucas surprised; he thought he could only walk in his wheelchair. And he was walking _**very**_ well in his crutches, obviously he'd been practicing. He saw his brother picking up all the bottles from the kitchen and some hidden in the living room and put them in a bag. "Here. Take them with you." He said while giving him the bag. Maybe Lucas was wrong, after all maybe he wasn't an alcoholic; an alcoholic certainly wouldn't do that. "I'm sober, Luke. And I know what I want. It just takes time. Just please don't tell her."_

"How is he?" Haley's heart was about to explode, she could hear it beat. She'd been thinking about him every minute, every hour of every day. Had he been sleeping well? Had he been thinking of her? Or Jamie? Had he been able to eat? What if someone entered the house and hurt him? Oh my God...

"He's better. He's not drinking anymore." The words sounded like a melody to her. He was not drinking? She couldn't tell how happy and proud of him she was. Her Nathan was sober again… And suddenly her face lit up. He was sober… That just sounded so amazing that she had to say it loud.

"He is sober." She said, still with her eyes shining. Lucas nodded, loving the effects those three little words had on her.

"You know, the guy I've seen today is a guy you should not be afraid of." He had promised his brother he wouldn't tell her, but that didn't stop him from giving her hints. She looked at him not really knowing what Lucas meant with that. Was he telling her to go see him? Or was that just one more piece of information on Nathan's soberness? "And I understand you, Haley. I understand your reasons and you are this amazing brave woman and I trust you. So do what you think it's best for you and Jamie. I just want you to know that we'll always be here for you and if you are going to rent some place then please do it because you think it's the best, not because you're disturbing us, okay?"

"It's the best, Luke. Thank you." She said doing her trademark half smile.

"But listen… huh… how are you going to rent some place? Do you need any monetary help?" Lucas knew it was going to be hard, after all Haley was a teacher and nowadays renting some house or apartment in Tree Hill wasn't cheap. Haley smiled with the embarrassment of her best friend, it was clear to her that he didn't want her to think he was being rude. Silly… She was his best friend, she knew he was just being caring.

"Well, I've already been seeing some apartments and since my salary's not that great and enough I'll start working tomorrow at another job. Part-time… I managed to conceal schedules with all my classes. You know, Nathan's shoe contract was great and it gave us tons of money but I'm just using money of my own for this. Not from our account or his… So I really need this part-time job. And it's not like the money from the shoes lasts forever, right?" Lucas was shocked with the amount of information.

"Were you going to tell me you're starting at a new part-time job tomorrow? What is it anyway?"

"Oh, you'll see… Listen, I'm really tired, so I think I'm going to bed, okay?" Lucas couldn't help but notice in her quick change of mood when talking about the new job.

"But –"

"Good night, Luke. Thank you." She cut his words, gave him a peck on the cheek and left the kitchen not before giving him a shy wink.

"I hope you're better now." The woman said looking at Nathan with a smile on her face.

"I am. I just couldn't take it anymore." He said with a pain look on his face. Slowly standing up, he picked up his crutches and grabbed his wallet. "Here's your money. You did great." He said giving her the dollars.

"I was just doing my job. But remember I never go to my clients'. My clients come to me, okay?" he nodded, he knew she was right. But he was injured; there was no way he was leaving home. "Good luck. I'm sure you'll do it." She smiled one last time and left the house leaving Nathan all alone. A Nathan that knew he was never going to regret what he'd just done. It was nothing Haley hadn't done before so he just wanted things to be fair. Before he could start wondering about his wife, a knock on the door was heard. "What now?" he said working on his crutches.

"Let me see it." Said Whitey as soon as Nathan opened the door. Without hesitation he showed him what his former coach asked him to. "Well, I don't know how you kids can take that." He said pulling his hat and scratching his head. "Is it how you wanted?"

"It's everything I wanted. Your niece did an excellent job. Thanks for telling her to pass by." Nathan loved that man, he really did. He was always helping people in a wise way. What he wouldn't give to be half as wise as Whitey…

"I'm still trying to understand how that girl ended up doing _this _kind of thing. I guess it's popular nowadays, huh?" Whitey said looking at the subject of their talk while Nathan contemplated him.

"Thank you, coach. For waking me up." Nathan knew that if it wasn't for Whitey he wouldn't be there, in that situation, on his crutches.

"You did it all by yourself, Nathan. You just don't know it yet. All I did was yell at you." He said with a small chuckle.

"And that's exactly what I'm thanking you for. That speech you gave me really inspired me to change. It felt like a call to me; to go back when I was good." His words were sincere; he would never be able to describe how much Whitey had helped him.

"You're still good, son." The old man said, putting his wrinkled hand on his shoulder.

"No I'm not." He replied, suddenly putting his hands on his head.

"Do I need to yell at you again?"

"It's not that. I… I just got a little dizzy… Whoa!" he felt like he was about to fall and he would have if it wasn't for Whitey to catch him. "It's okay, it's okay… It must have been from this." He said pointing at what Whitey's niece had made him. "She told me it could have some secondary effects."

"Are you alright? I knew these things were not healthy!" Whitey protested. How could these young people do those kind of things? "Let's just sit you on the couch. Hold onto me." He was feeling better, at least the floor was not as close as before. "Why would you put a sheet on the sofa? Trying to hide your masterpiece?"

"I didn't want her to dirty the couch." He said, laying on his ex-best friend.

"_Can you believe it? I'm going to have my own shoes! With my own name and number!" Nathan said with one of the most opened smiles she'd ever seen. She continued to fondle his bare chest._

"_I'm so proud of you!" She said, dropping a kiss on his lips. She was just as happy as he was. His dream had finally come true. He was going to play in the NBA! And she already was this slobbered wife._

_"And there's no one else I'd want right by my side…" he squeezed her shoulder, pulling her to him, taking in her sweet scent. She just moaned in response. "You know what? I think we should call someone to baby sit Jamie tomorrow night. We'll go to the bar meet Barry so he can give me the shoes and then it's just the two of us. So we can celebrate…" he said with his smirk on his face._

"_We've been celebrating the entire week..." She let out a loud laugh, burying her head in his chest._

"_Does that bother you? You didn't seem to mind all those times you were scre-"_

"_Don't finish that!" She said smacking his shoulder and now was his turn to laugh. He looked at her completely in awe. She was so beautiful, so his... And he didn't resist to peck her lips, not before putting a stray of hair behind her soft little ear. _

"_I love you, you know that?" she just closed her eyes, enjoying all the sensations those words made her feel. He'd say it daily but every single day she felt something different. Something she'd never get tired of. Never._

"_I love you too." Her hand was now rubbing his face, feeling his smooth skin. She couldn't help but think how the next day was going to be amazing. "Tomorrow is going to change everything. Your dreams will come true!"_

Lying in her bed, she realized she'd been absolutely right. That day changed everything. But his dreams didn't come true; he was thrown out by a window instead. She would always wonder what that ass of a guy told Nathan to make him lose his grip like that. He probably talked trash about the _Sonics_; that was certainly one of the things Nathan would be pissed about.

That day changed everything. That was the first day of her nightmare. And today… Today she couldn't go to sleep as usual. But this time there was this pain in her heart, this weird feeling that something bad was about to happen.

She missed him so much, she just couldn't take it anymore, she needed to see him, touch him, make sure he wasn't the one responsible for her bad feelings. And after all, Lucas even told her he was sober. She was not afraid. Not anymore. Almost like an instinct, she got up from bed, grabbed some practical clothes and left Lucas' house.

She was certain this was the right thing to do so she sped up; excitement, nervousness, concern running through her veins. And even though their house was five minutes away from Lucas', it felt like she was driving for hours. Until that familiar driveway came into view. She stepped out of the car, hearing nothing but the wind blowing through the trees. No groans or yells, that's a start, she thought. It was a cold night and she shivered when the nakedness of her neck felt the smooth breeze. She recalled the last time she'd been there. She hadn't had the courage to walk in. She'd been a coward and she just preferred to walk away and so, this time, she continued to stare at the front door, only the moon light giving her the view. It's now or never. And with that, she knew it, that wouldn't happen again. She'd never walk away. Not anymore. So, she grabbed her keys and opened the front door.

The house was all dark meaning he'd probably be asleep. _Of course he's sleeping, Haley! It's 3 am in the freaking morning!_, she thought to herself, shaking her head to her silliness. There was still this smell of alcohol, not as intense as it used to be, but definitely still existent. After standing in the same place for a long time, taking a look at the house, familiarizing it, she started to move to the living room. She knew he'd be on the couch. _The_ couch. Her heart was pounding, her steps were slow and her eyes were almost shut. The truth is that she was still afraid. Not of him, but for him. Until he saw it, the couch. It had a white sheet around it and there was a body covered with a blanket on it: him… her husband… Nathan…

His hair was even bigger than it was before, the same with his bear. She wanted to look closer at him, see how different his look was from her previous flashback. Her face had a worried and pitied expression. How he was… In what he was transformed… What he'd lost… And she couldn't take it anymore, she started crying right there, feeling there was nothing else she could do. At least until she saw the tears of sweat on his face and how he was kicking and punching the couch. He was obviously still asleep, but he looked desperate. Before thinking twice, she kneeled in front of him and grabbed his face with her tiny hands, caressing his face and taking away the sweat from his forehead. His forehead that was almost burning. Burning in fever. She immediately got up to get a wet towel, returning to him, putting it on his forehead.

"Haley…" she looked at him only to watch his left hand landing softly on her face. His thumb searched for her lips while his index finger caressed her right eyebrow. He hadn't even open his eyes and he knew it was her. She was sure her heart was going to explode, the way he'd said her name and the way his fingers were currently playing with her lips and caressing her eyebrows… She let out even more tears with all that was happening.

"Sshh. It's okay." She smiled while the tears ran through her face. "It's okay." She reassured him, kissing his thumb that insisted on her lips.

"Don't cry." He slowly said, never opening his eyes, just feeling her tears on his fingers. "I hate it when you cry." She wanted to believe him, she wanted to trust him. But she knew it was the fever talking. She knew he was delusional, hallucinating. After getting the appropriate pills, she grabbed his face and opened his mouth, feeling his lips for the first time in months. Even it were her fingers feeling them…

"Here. Take these." She almost whispered to him who gently obeyed her.

"Please… Please stay here with me." He now had his both hands on her. The left one wrapped behind her hair, softly stroking it and the right one on her face, repeating all the movements he'd previously made with the other one. "Stay…"

_Why? You don't need me, remember?_Was all she wanted to say. But he was hallucinated, she wasn't going to do it. And he was her husband. And even though he'd said the opposite thing, she knew he needed her in that moment. It was clearly the fever that made him act that way. So she just smiled at him and nodded, while he moved on the couch to arrange some space to fit her body. She knew this was probably too much and she'd never do it if he was in normal conditions: a) because he'd never asked her to stay and b) because she wouldn't be ready for such thing.

She looked at him and closed her eyes for a moment before getting up and sat on the armchair near the couch. He looked at her confused and disappointed.

"I'll be right here." Hallucinated or not, she wasn't ready to lie next to him. She looked one more time to his piercing blue eyes and then closed hers. And for the first time in days, she actually fell asleep.

When he woke up, she was the first person he thought of, as always. She and Jamie were the people whom he'd always see first thing in the day. He felt better, he knew he had had fever last night and all that happened flashed through him. After recalling the events from the previous night, he excitedly got up only to find himself alone in the house. She wasn't there anymore, the armchair was empty. Why did she leave him alone? Or was she never there? Maybe it was just one of his hallucinations… But it felt so real! The way her hands had caressed his face, how caring she was putting the wet towel on him, the way her lips moved in his fingers, the hotness that small kiss had caused him… It had been the best hallucination ever. He woke up so happy, even if it hadn't been real, it had felt amazing. Last night, he fell in love with her all over again.

She walked in the place, knowing that's where she'd start her new part-time job, after finishing her classes in the afternoon. She could still feel her body tremble from the previous night events. Before leaving him alone this morning, she checked on him and he wasn't with fever anymore. She was completely confused, she wouldn't know how to react when he woke up and saw her there so she just drenched the towel again and put it on his forehead one more time before leaving the house. Last night had felt so good, even if he was hallucinated. She was so desperate she'd swear she had an orgasm when his fingers played with her lips. The way -

"Well well… Good morning! Can I serve you a cup of coffee, girlie?" the curly brunette asked her before hugging her.

"Nah, thanks! I just passed by to make sure I start today after school." She smiled at the woman in front of her that didn't hesitate in brushing her through her face.

"Haley, you know this place has always been yours. You'll always be the best waitress of Karen's Café. Welcome back!"

"Thank you, Karen." She smiled once again at her and looked around the café. It hadn't change a bit in those four years, it was exactly the same. She nodded her head, knowing it was the right thing to do. "I guess I'm going back to where it all started, right?"

Nathan was so excited and overwhelmed with all that happened that he was decided to make things better for him, for Haley and for Jamie.

"Someone looks determined…" Whitey said looking at Nathan successfully crawling up the stairs on his crutches.

"Yeah, those physiotherapy sessions you've been taking me are really helpful."

"I love seeing you like this, son. But you were not very well yesterday. Shouldn't you been resting?"

"Coach, I've been resting for four months now. It's time to get in action, don't you think?" he looked at him with a confident smile. "It's about time. I'm gonna get her back. I'm scared to death, but I'll do it." He said with the same confidence. Whitey approached him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"You know, Nathan: we all are called at least once to play a role that surpasses us. That's when we justify the rest of our life, lost in the performance of small roles unworthy of what we are. Your time has come, Nathan." Nathan looked intently at Whitey.

"I guess I'm going back to where it all started, right?"

**AN: I'm sorry for not replying to your comments, I don't have much time to do it, but I promise one day I'll reply to everyone. I can't say how thankful I am for your replies, **_**you're the best**_**! I'd just like to say: please keep reviewing! I have a lot more favourites than reviews so please if you favourite, please leave a comment, even if it's just to say "it's fine/bad, etc" =) I've started school so I don't have so much free time like before, but I hope to UD soon. The more replies I get, the sooner I UD. Thanks everyone, I love you all!**

**AN 2: As you all know, Leyton is together in this fic. Personally, I don't really care to whom Lucas ends up with, but since Leyton was together in S4, I decided to put them together in this fic too. Also, Brooke will appear in this too, just in later chapters. As you've seen, there's no Clos. Over Bros. and Karen's Café and Karen still exist LOL. Just because I think it's a character and a place that carry a lot of the magic of OTH.**

**Another thing: don't worry about all the "missing" scenes related to Whitey/Nathan. ****We will see them someday!**


	5. Back When You Were Good

**AN 1: ****Ok, first of all, I'm so sorry for the delay! I just finished school and now I'll have exams, but hopefully I'll have more time to UD. Thank you for the reviews, they light up my days!**

**About this chapter, it's smaller than usual, because I needed it to be. You'll understand it as soon as you read. But don't worry. The fact this is shorter, means that I'll update sooner! On a side note: I know you want more Naley scenes and you'll have loads of them in future chapters. I just liked you to know that, for now, I need Naley to have few scenes together so that in future chapters that can have a greater impact in their interaction.**

Do you believe in signs? Actions or moments that you experience and immediately relate to some powerful event from your past? Is it destiny or just a mere coincidence?

"What do you say, Jimmy Jam? Do you like it?" Haley asked her son who was now looking overwhelmed at the place.

"I like it, momma!" the little boy was stunned. It had been hard to explain to him they were going to move in there for a while. He hadn't understood… What about daddy? And uncle Lucas and aunt Peyton? Why couldn't they just go home? "I think it's cool we're staying in the apartment where you and daddy used to live." The _apartment where you and daddy used to live_. His words almost made Haley cry, just like she did when Mr. Norris took her there for the first time, telling her the apartment was a great choice: low rent, wonderful location and amazing installations. Of course he had no idea she had lived there in the past. A past full of great memories…

That was their very first apartment. The apartment where they made love for the very first time; the apartment where they had their newlyweds' life; the apartment where they've been happy before and after she went on tour.

Haley took a deeper look around her. It was different, the colours of the walls were different. They were light blue now. The divisions were the same though: the kitchen right by the side of the living room and that extremely familiar hallway leading to the bedrooms, since another bedroom had been built in their old laundry room. She had been amazed while, during the apartments Mr. Norris had been showing, that had been one of the chosen.

When Jamie was two months old, they left the apartment and went to Maryland, where they lived with Lucas. When they finished college, Nathan signed the shoe contract and with all the money of it, they bought a new house. Their house. But the truth was that both of them would never forget everything they lived in that tiny apartment. It had a huge meaning to them, it was extremely symbolic. That had been the apartment that saw them growing together, transforming into a much stronger couple… And, now, just like the apartment, they were both empty. And she knew that, just like she knew how special that place was for them. She wasn't sure if renting it was the best option. Did she really want to be 'haunted' by all the memories? She had been afraid of that, but after spending some hours inside of it, just staring at the empty walls, she realised she'd never felt safer in the last months. That place gave her a huge sense of security, stability and comfort. That was the magic of that apartment, she'd always felt like that while she'd been there. And it was one of the cheapest so, why not?

"It is, isn't it?" she still had teary eyes and made everything she could to not look at him, grabbing one of the light boxes and giving it to her son. "Here. Why don't you go put these in your bedroom? You can have your toys again, buddy!" Jamie smiled widely before grabbing the box and started running to his own bedroom, the one that had been built. And for the first time in a long time, Haley felt a sense of relief. Jamie finally had his own bedroom again. It was not as bigger as the other one, but it was what she could afford.

"Jesus, Haley! What do you have in here, rocks?" she heard Peyton mutter, her face covered with the big brown box she was carrying.

"It's all the decoration stuff… Thanks for helping." Haley replied, helping her with the box. Peyton kept looking intently at her. She knew how much her friend was going through right now and she wanted to make sure it was everything okay.

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Haley?" for Peyton, it seemed impossible that moving in to the place her marriage had been healthy and happy, would help her feel better. But she knew Nathan and Haley weren't like all the other couples, not even like her and Lucas. They were special, had a love no one had.

"I am, Peyton. I actually feel great when I'm in here. It's like I can sort of… pretend that I'm this lucky girl again, with a wonderful marriage and that I'll be cooking dinner when he comes home after practice…" she let it all out and not being able to take it anymore, Haley started crying again, Peyton quickly hugging her.

"Hales, things will get better, I promise you." She trusted Peyton; since their junior year that they had become great friends. Haley had always been the rock, she never showed her true feelings to anyone but Nathan, she never broke down before to anyone else. But he wasn't there this time and it was just too much for her to handle. "Besides, you're not allowed to cry. No one cries more than me in this town!" Peyton told her, while whipping away the tears in her eyes, making Haley laugh.

"Momma!" both girls heard Jamie call for his mom and her maternal intuition made Haley instantly let go of Peyton's embrace.

"Thank you." She thanked her, Peyton's support was so important to her. Everyone's support, actually.

"You're welcome. Just remember, Haley: you're not alone in this." Haley just nodded and smiled at her then turning her back to her, walking towards Jamie's bedroom. "And Haley: _Back When You Were Good – The Hours_"

"A week has passed, Nathan. I'm still waiting…" Whitey said to the man in front of him.

"I know… I'm just… scared." Did this guy had any idea of what he was about to do? Well, yeah, of course he had, but the point is: how could someone not be afraid?

"And what the hell did I tell you about that?" there he was… Yelling again.

"Stop yelling at me, coach! This is really hard!"

"Marriage is hard, Nathan! And I'm tired of this! I've been doing nothing else for the past few weeks, I look like a damn shrink! So get the courage in that ass of yours and move!" Whitey was really tired of this, it was getting repetitive. How long did he have to keep yelling at him?

"Good afternoon. Karen's Cafe. Can I help you?" he heard her voice through the phone. God, how he missed that voice! How he missed her eyes, how he missed her body, her love… He missed all of her. He actually didn't know what had gotten to him to call Karen's Cafe but after being informed by Whitey she started working there, he just felt the need to call. To hear her. Why had she started working there? A quick answer passed through his mind. _You're not working you idiot. And she's trying to sustain her family… _He felt guilty and terrible, realizing how much of a centric little jerk he had been. He was still scared but he knew- "Hello?... Hello?" he wanted to answer, to tell her everything he wanted to, but his index finger was faster and he ended up turning off the phone. _Great, now he was a stalker, too!_

"Haley, is everything okay?" Karen asked from the counter, watching the younger woman with a strange face on her face, still with the phone in her hand.

"Nobody spoke…" she was so vulnerable that that simple phone call had left her scared. She heard someone breathing in the other side of the line. Maybe they wanted to call somewhere else?

"Oh, don't worry. It happens all the time…" Karen assured her, giving her a cup of coffee. "It's time for you to go home, isn't it?" the older woman winked at her.

"Thanks." When she turned her head towards the window, she saw Whitey staring at her. When he noticed she had seen him, he gently turned his head to the sides and entered the cafe. "Hey, coach!" she greeted.

"Well, well, if it isn't Cinderella and her very own God fairy." He said turning his head to Karen, who replied with a small chuckle.

"Hi, coach Durham."

"What brings you here?" Haley asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"You know I'm like _Spiderman_: I'm always in the neighbourhood!" Haley almost spit the coffee she had just drunk. This old man always had such a good humour…

"Do you want something to drink?" Karen's voice echoed from the counter.

"Do you have poison? I could use some right now… I was seeing some old photographs and found some of Dan… They got me sick!" he replied, sitting in one of the chairs near the counter.

"Well, we don't have poison, but I do know some of the town's snakes if you're interested…" Karen replied, entering the joke. Whitey laughed and then told Haley to sit next to him.

"But mostly I came here to check on you: you must be thrilled!" Whitey had a smile on his face that Haley couldn't quite decipher. How could she be thrilled? Was he making fun of her? Of course not! Whitey wasn't like that… "I knew he would do it." He? What the hell was he talking about?

"He? I'm sorry, but what are you talking about, coach?" Haley's face had such a confused expression that Nathan hadn't done anything. Damn that stupid little boy! His face was now red and anger was taking control of him. "Are you okay?" Haley asked while unlacing her apron.

"Excuse me, ladies. I need to take care of something." And he walked out of the cafe, leaving a surprised Haley and Karen inside.

"That was weird… Anyway, I gotta get going. Lucas and Peyton are taking care of Jamie and they will have dinner with Larry so, I should not be late. Is that okay for you?" Haley asked her God fairy, like Whitey had named her.

"Of course not, I had already dismissed you, remember?"

Haley entered her apartment and saw Lucas, Peyton and Jamie watching tv.

"Momma!" the little boy got up from the couch and ran towards his mom, as soon as he noticed she had entered the house.

"Hey buddy! How was your day?" she asked giving him an Eskimo kiss.

"Mostly just play…" she laughed, oh what a wonderful life children had…

"You lucky kid! Thank you so much, you guys and I'm sorry, I came as fast as I could…"

"Don't worry, Hales. We're just in time. Are you sure you don't need anything else?" Lucas asked her giving her a hug.

"No… Now go! I don't want you to be late." Lucas and Peyton said goodbye to Jamie and when Peyton was hugging Haley, she whispered her something.

"You just need to press 'play'." She winked at her and then, they were both gone. Peyton and music… There was no better fit in the world.

That boy was a lost cause! Whitey was walking to Nathan and Haley's house, preparing his lungs for another yelling session. What was his problem? He was just perfect, all he had to do was… do it! Whitey had been slowly picking up his pieces and putting them together. But everything had always been in Nathan's hands. And he was being a chicken!

When he reached his destination, he walked in, moving towards that stinky living room.

"Nathan!" he yelled when he didn't find him there. Where the hell was that boy? "Nathan!" he kept looking around the room and he noticed a small little white paper on the fridge. He picked up the small piece of paper, pulled out his glasses from the pocket and started reading: _'I went to loving again. Thank you. Nathan.'_

Whitey had an enormous smile on his face. He was so proud of him, how he had been wrong to think he was a chicken. Well, for some, what he'd written might sound like the lamest thing ever, but only Whitey and Nathan would ever understand what that truly meant.

"_What are you doing here? Telling me inspiring stories?" Nathan asked sarcastically as soon as he watched his former coach Whitey entering the living room, staring at him._

"_I've told you once and I'll tell you twice: the pity's store closed today!" the old man replied, glaring at him. What was that boy doing to himself? To his family?_

"_Why don't you get the hell out of my house?" Nathan asked bitterly. He was not in the mood for Whitey's speeches…The old man looked at him for a while, a little hurt with his words. But he knew he had to get through him._

"_Basketball is nothing compared to Haley and Jamie, son." Nathan looked at him and started laughing._

"_Jeez! What book are you people reading? Because I'm sure it's the same!" this was going to be harder than he thought…_

"_Have you ever heard of Alfred de Musset?" Nathan looked weirdly at him, who would know such a weirdo? "It was Camilla's favourite writer. And every night, before we go to sleep, she would read me something he wrote. And he once said: '"Life is a deep sleep of which love is the dream"'. You have to love to live, son. And you are the one deciding where you're going to find that love. But I don't care all the trash you're saying or all the pain you're feeling. I know Haley and Jamie are the two most important things in your life and you know it too. So take that ass off of that couch and start doing something to get them back! One day, when you're older, you're regretting it not doing it, just like your father…"_

"_I'll never be like Dan!" Nathan yelled, in the verge of tears._

"_You're right, son. You'll never be like Dan. Either you're better or worse." Hearing that, Nathan looked shocked at him._

"_Worse?" he yelled once again._

"_Worse. Because you know how much you suffered with everything he put you through and you're making your own son the same. You had the chance to learn with his mistakes. He hadn't. And that makes you worse than him." Nathan realized what Whitey was saying was true. He felt like he had one of Lucas' moments of clarity. "You're still Nathan Scott. You're still the man Haley loves. You're still the father Jamie runs to every time he gets home. Don't ruin that, son." When he finished, Whitey looked at him one last time. "And by the way, that book is called life. Maybe you should have a copy…"_

"Momma, can I go play a little before dinner?" Jamie entered the kitchen, looking at his mom who was cutting some tomatoes.

"Sure! But when I call you, you have to stop and eat all your soup…" she giggled with the annoyed expression her son had just made as soon as he heard the word 'soup'.

"Oh okay…" he was still disappointed with the soup but he had no choice. Haley would always make him soup, alleging it was healthy and would make him stronger.

"_No! No! No! No! I don't want soup!"__ Jamie yelled, throwing his spoon to the floor._

"_Jamie! That was the last time you did that! You can't just throw things like that, son!" Haley picked up the spoon and yelled back at him, trying her best to do a threatening face. "Now eat the soup!"_

"_No! I won't eat it!"_

"_JAMIE!" Nathan looked at his own son with the most intense glare. He was being childish and that needed to stop. "You heard your mother, didn't you?"_

"_But dad-"_

"_Don't dad me! Eat the soup!"_

Haley had never seen Nathan yelling at Jamie like that one time. He would always stand up for her. And he was always so caring and tender.

"_What's wrong?" Haley asked her husband who had just lain on their bed, next to her, prepared for another night of sleep._

"_Do you think I was too harsh with Jamie? Because of that all scene with the soup…" he looked like a puppy, his light blue eyes filled with concern._

"_Nathan, he has to be yelled from times to times. And he was being stubborn…" she hated to yell at her own son, but she had to do it when needed. And so did Nathan._

"_I know. I just… feel wrong doing it." She placed a soft kiss on his cheek and reassured him it was okay._

_"You were just being a good father…"_

And just thinking about him, she had her eyes teary once again. That's when she found the courage and went to pick up her iPod, knowing Peyton's song was there, asking for being played. She returned to the kitchen, put the phones in her ears and pressed play.

_I told you, everyone's the same  
And it's no use, it's no use laying all the blame_

That's when she heard a knock on the door. Who could it be?

_At my door; that won't work no more.  
I've heard it all before_

After cleaning her hands and drying them in a towel, she walked towards the door and opened it….

The sigh petrified her...

Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure it would explode...

She immediately started crying…

_Nathan__._

Nathan was there… In front of her... On his crutches… He was her Nathan again. His hair was short and he had no bear, just like before, just like in her flashbacks…

And I see you now, you have changed somehow

"Nathan…" she breathlessly whispered, putting her hands over her mouth. She was so nervous, what was this? Was she dreaming? Because the way he was looking at her couldn't be real. She saw love, protectiveness and regret in them. She knew that look: he was desperate. He was looking desperate at her.

"Hi…" he silently said, joining her in the tears.

_Back when you were... someone.  
Back when you were good.  
Back when you were... someone._

**AN 2:**** The chapter needed to be short because I needed these little scenes to introduce Nathan's "awakening". The old Nathan is back, the Nathan we've always known. And now this is going to be interesting, now is going to start the part of this story that I've always wanted to see on the show. **

**The music Peyton suggested is 'Back When You Were Good', by The Hours and it was actually used in OTH, episode 5.02. **

**I'll UD soon and I'd like everyone to tell me: do you like the way the story is going? I've always pictured it this way, but I noticed some people commented the first chapter and said that were interested to see where this was going and I'd really like to know so, please review!**

**PS: **_**Dust In Your Pillow**_** is going to become a multi-chapter fic and I'll UD soon, just like **_**It's All In The Game**_**. Another important thing: please go to my profile page and vote in the poll I have there. It's really important for me, because I want to know what you guys think. Thank you!**

**Have a great week! =) Xoxo, Rita**


	6. Until You Come Back To Me

**AN: Thank you very much for the reviews, guys! ****I'm really happy with the ones I got, but I still feel like I lost some readers. Reviews really are what inspire an author to write and I'm not going to lie: if I get like 15 reviews per chapter I'm going to have more will to write more chapters than if I get 4 or 5, therefore, I'll update sooner. **

**Thank you all the ones who took a minute to vote in the poll. Even though only 3 people voted, I'm thankful to those three people! =)**

**This is going to be another short chapter, because it's a sort of extension of the last chapter. Next chapter, the normal length will return. Hope you guys like it and please, if you favourite, review! Just a simple 'nice' or anything you think about the story =)**

She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say.

He knew everything he had to do. He knew everything he had to say. But as soon as he saw her, he forgot everything. A sight of her still made him go absolutely insane, still made him speechless. She was just such a unique woman in the world… Haley had always been perfect and he couldn't understand how could someone not like her. She was so fragile, so little and she had the biggest heart he had ever seen. She was the rock: for him, for Jamie, for her friends, for everybody... When anyone had problems they would immediately talk to her about it, because she would always say the right thing. And she was also so goofy and cute and sweet and, God, just perfect! And how lucky was he? A woman like her loved him. He had never understood that. What could she have seen in him? I mean, she grew up surrounded by 'good guys', like Lucas and all his river court friends! Why did she fall in love with him, a cocky jock who thought the world revolved around a basketball instead of the sun? A long time ago, that great and amazing girl had fallen in love with a jerk. Ass. Idiot. There are no other words to describe the old him… And he realized those words suited him now, in this moment.

How he missed the way those big brown eyes shine... Her eyes would always give her away, at least for him. He knew her so well that they didn't need to talk, they would look in each others eyes and they would understand what the other was trying to say.

Seeing him standing there in her front door, she couldn't help but realize how familiar that whole scene felt. It had looked like a remake but with the roles reversed… A remake of that moment where, five years ago, she appeared at his front door, returned from the tour. She had said the exact same thing, an afraid and hurt 'Hi'. Just like he did now. What? What was she going to do? What _could_ she do? She had dreamed with this moment, where she would see her old Nathan again… But she never thought it would be this hard. Something inside of her was telling her to just hug him and kiss him… But that was her subconscious talking. She knew she didn't want to do that, she didn't feel ready. Her heart was so broken that it would take a long time to put the pieces together. Her feelings were so mashed up, shock, happiness, horror, fear, pride, nostalgia, anger, love, that all she managed to say was an almost inaudible "Nathan."

He had a look on his face she had never seen. His eyes were red and he was actually crying, looking at her with such a hurt look. His hands strongly gripping the crutches. _The crutches_. He was on his crutches. He was on his crutches! He did it. He made it. She felt so happy and relieved and confused and now she was angry again, because she hadn't been there and what was she doing now? Just calm down! Calm down. _That's impossible when your husband who ignored you for four months is at your front door completely changed._ She couldn't take it anymore and she started crying, slowly putting her right hand on her mouth, her eyes closing and almost instantly tears dropping on the floor.

If he already felt guilty, seeing her cry just made him feel even worse. He was the reason for those tears. He was the one responsible for everything that had happened to them. He had never been able to watch her cry. How could someone harm this woman? He just wanted to punch himself for everything he had done! How could someone take advantage of that heart? Of his girl? And it was something instinctive what he felt next: the urge to protect her. In just one step, he entered the house and grabbed her body, hugging her, while resting his arm-pits on the crutches to not let them hurt Haley. She felt so good… He hadn't felt her in four months, considering his dream that she had been there taking care of him had been just that: a dream. He could feel her tears drenching his brown t-shirt. But even though he was loving being there, with her, the fact she wasn't hugging him back didn't go unnoticed by him. And just when he was caressing her head, moving his fingers through her hair, she backed away from him, her left hand pushing his chest away. She avoided his gaze by looking to her right side, before closing the door. He tried to approach but she backed away and with both her hands she ordered him to stop, this time looking intently at him.

He knew she wasn't going to forgive him instantly but he never thought she would be this cold. He couldn't even hug her…

"Momma, look! I'm almost finishing my-" they both heard Jamie's voice and watched him appear in the living room. The little boy looked at his father and even though all he wanted was to tell him how much he didn't like seeing him sad like that, Jamie was still afraid of him. So, he just backed away, until his back was against the wall, a frightened look on his face. Nathan kept looking at him and he started crying again. His boy was a little taller and his baby face was more mature. How could he have changed so much in four months? He needed to hug his own son, needed to hold him in his arms and tell him how sorry he was. But he couldn't do it without Haley's permission so he just gave her a desperate look which she clearly understood attending to her quick nod.

She wasn't ready for him, for his hugs, for his kisses or anything else coming from him, but she knew how much Jamie had missed his dad and she wouldn't keep him away from him. Actually, the sigh was touching her heart, just like every time the two people she loved the most in the world were together. She watched Nathan approaching Jamie who was still scared, his big blue eyes looking way up to his dad, not sure of what he was going to do. With a lot of effort and will, Nathan managed to get on his knees so he could be at Jamie's eye level. Seeing his son standing there, like he was seeing a ghost, a stranger, anyone but his own father, made Nathan spill more tears. This time it was more intense, he had never cried so much in his entire life and seeing him like that, seeing that side of him she'd never seen, Haley joined him in the cries, trying to do her best not to let Jamie see her. Nathan put his large arm around Jamie's waist and pulled him to him, hugging him while crying.

"I missed you, buddy." He was broken, she knew that voice and, besides that, she definitely knew that Nathan wouldn't cry easily. Jamie placed his little arms on his father's back and just like it had been magic, the fear went all away. Hid dad was there, he wasn't sad anymore. "I love you, Jamie." He whispered in his son's ear, almost choking him with all the strength he was putting in that hug.

"I missed you too, daddy." That was it for her, Haley couldn't take it anymore. They had to talk and she was sure her heart wouldn't take it if she kept watching the heartbreaking scene between father and son, her husband and her son. But she wasn't going to interrupt the moment, she just had to control herself. "Daddy, do you want to come and see my puzzle?" Jamie asked excited. Of course he wouldn't understand what was happening. For him it was just all okay. He was a child, he saw his daddy acting normally and thought everything was going back to normal. Back to happiness. Nathan looked devastated with his son ingenuousness.

"Jamie, why don't you go to your room? Mommy and daddy need to talk. But I promise you we'll be there in a minute, okay?" Haley assured her son. They really needed to talk and Jamie shouldn't be listening to it. Nathan got up and passed his hand through Jamie's hair.

"Go on, buddy." Jamie ran to his room, still a little confused, but he was going to obey his parents so he ran to his bedroom, leaving Nathan and Haley alone in the room. They were both with his eyes teary, butterflies in the stomach, their heart beats going crazy.

"I'm so sorry, Haley…" Nathan had the courage to begin the conversation and he walked towards her, preparing himself to hug her again. He knew she was going to reject him, but he had to try. He had to show how sorry he was and how much he still wanted her. But, just like he had predicted, she hold his wrists, stopping him.

"Don't. You can't say that, Nathan. Not after this…" she had her hurt face plastered and he instantly knew this was going to be hard and loud. And he deserved it. He deserved everything of it.

"Haley, I-"

"Nathan, I was there for you every single day! And what did you do? You refused me, denied me, denied us! You told me you had nothing… And you know, it makes me wonder what Jamie and I truly mean to you! Yes, because apparently we're nothing to you!" he had never seen her so angry: she was yelling, crying, broken, all at the same time. But above all, she was right. He had refused her help, denied their marriage and told her that without basketball he had nothing… But even though it seemed like that, he hadn't meant it that way.

"I know that, Haley! Okay?" he yelled too, but angry with himself. She avoided his gaze and looked to the floor, not seeing both his hands cleaning the tears from his eyes. "I told you I had nothing… But I was talking about my career, my dream… Never, for a second it was, did I think you and Jamie were and meant nothing to me." She looked right up at him and her hurt expression transformed into one much worse: indignation.

"Then why did you treat us like you did? Why did you yell at your son every time he grabbed a basketball? Why did you shut me out?"

"Because I was grieving and… insane… and…!" Nathan shouted out.

"Drunk?" Haley completed his sentence, looking intently at him. _That_ had hurt like hell. But he was a martyr right now, he would have to handle the aftermath of his own crap. He just nodded, feeling ashamed of himself. He had been so stupid thinking alcohol was the solution… He should have known better, especially considering his family's history with alcohol. They just stayed there for more than a minute, looking at each other. Their gasps being the only sound echoing in the apartment.

"There was never a night where my heart wasn't here with you." He slowly stated, making her eyes widen. He had purposely said the exact same thing she had told him five years ago, when she came back from the tour. She had been honest about it, just like he also was now. "Haley, I know what I did was bad and really hard to forgive, but believe it or not, I shut you and Jamie out because I thought the entire time you deserved better." She looked at him with a confused look. What did he mean with that? "Jamie deserved to have someone who could play with him without being in a wheelchair. Deserved someone who could play his favourite sport with him, and play with him in the pool, carry him to his bedroom when he would fall asleep on the couch…"

"And do you seriously think your son would love you less because you had an accident?" oh boy, she was just full pissed…

"No! But he deserved to have that! Just like you deserved a guy who could be there for you when you came home at the end of the day and could make you a nice dinner, who could kiss you and make love to you." She was utterly shocked now. What had gotten into him?

"Are you crazy?" was the only thing she managed to say.

"I know how much you love to do all those things, Haley. And I couldn't be there for you, I couldn't give you that!"

"To you! Only you! I love making love _with_ _you_! Not anyone else!" hearing her say that, the passion and anger mixed in her voice made him smile for the first time in a long time. She would only want him. "What did you think was going to happen? That I was going to find some other man to have sex with?" he looked at her ashamedly again. "You know what, Nathan? The fact that you even considered that and imagined me doing something like that is really insulting!" how could he have thought that? It hurt her a lot! Is that the image that her husband had of her? That she was only with him because he was great in bed? And that the minute he couldn't seize her needs, she would immediately get under somebody else?

"No, it's not like that! I never thought you would do that, Haley! I know you." Now he wasn't sure if he should say what really had gone through his mind during those four months. But he had gone there to be honest with her and tell her _everything _so, that was what he was going to do. "I just… maybe if I acted like an ass, you would fall out of love with me, go on with your life and finally find someone who could give you all that. Someone who wasn't a loser…" Haley kept looking at him with her eyes almost on fire, she looked like she was almost going to explode.

"Loser? You had an accident, Nathan! That does not make you a loser! And how could you possibly think me and your son would stop loving you just because you were injured? How Nathan? Did I ever do something to make you believe that?" no, she always did the absolute opposite… "Tell me, Nathan, because I'm actually starting to believe that you think I'm with you just because you're great in bed and you can get a ball through a fucking hoop!" he didn't know what to say. He would bury himself even more…

"I just… I wanted what was best for you. And in that moment, I didn't see myself as being the best for you. And I guess, somehow, I never really felt worthy of you." Now was her turn to wipe the tears from her eyes, only to approach him after, standing right in front of him. She grabbed his face with her hands, the both of them closing their eyes with the contact.

"I love you, Nathan. Your son loves you. For whom you are! I don't care if you're rich, if you're poor, if you can or can't walk, can or can't talk, can or can't hear… I love you for who you are and nothing ever is going to happen to you that will make us stop loving you! And trust me when I say you're worthy of us, I wouldn't choose someone that wasn't worthy to be my husband and the father of my son." She rested her forehead against his and looked him in the eyes that were now spilling more tears. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Nathan? Never again think you're a loser or unworthy of us! Never!" he nodded, smiling at her and he bent down to kiss her. He wanted to taste those lips again, but she walked away, turning her face to the side. She just said she loved him, but that didn't mean everything was going back to normal…

"Just don't think that for cutting your hair and beard and saying you're sorry everything is going to be okay." He knew that, but why did it hurt so much when she said it? "I'm hurt, Nathan. And I don't see that changing anytime soon." They looked at each other for a second, Nathan looking devastated and Haley with a sorry smile on her face. "Now let's go and see Jamie's puzzle, please? I'm really tired and I just want to have dinner and go to bed…" He agreed, they had promised their son they left the leaving room and walked towards his bedroom.

"Was this the –" asked Nathan looking in the familiar room around him.

"laundry? Yes, they did some changes along these years." Haley informed him, aware of his familiarity with the apartment. And she couldn't believe when she looked at him: with a full smirk on his face, completely zoned out. Oh, he was definitely recalling what frequently happened in that laundry a few years ago… "Where's the puzzle, sweetie?" she shouted loud enough to stop Nathan's thoughts. She was such a mess that she didn't even want him fantasizing about her. Jamie quickly got up from bed where he was playing with some dinosaurs and guided his parents to his desk, showing them a puzzle with a little kid and what must be his parents. The puzzle was almost finished, there were just about two or three pieces missing in the part where the parents were supposed to be with their hands intertwined.

"I can't find these pieces…" Jamie said annoyed, pointing at the piece less part of the puzzle.

"Oh honey, it' amazing! Tomorrow I'll help you find the pieces, don't worry." Haley assured him, bending down to kiss his forehead.

"Yeah, man, it's awesome." Nathan gave his feedback to his son, passing his hand through his hair, once again.

"Now wash up for dinner, mister." Haley tapped his son's back lightly and was preparing to leave the room when he popped a question.

"Will you stay for dinner, daddy?" Haley stopped dead on her tracks and Nathan quickly looked at her. He wanted her to say the three letter word so much! As stupid as it sounded, the tension reminded him of one of those games where everyone was just waiting to see if the ball went in or not… Only in this case the player was Haley…

"Maybe some other time, Jamie." She stated before leaving the room. _Damn, she had never been good at basketball… _His face fell with disappointment and he soon realized now was the time for him to say goodbye to his son.

"I have to go now. But I promise you I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Nathan hugged him one more time and guilt started playing games with him again. "Listen, Jamie. You know daddy's been sad these last months, don't you?" the little boy quickly became frightened again, looking at his dad with uncertainty. "I want you to know that I'm sorry for all those times where I yelled at you without you doing any bad things and I'm sorry for not being at your race the other day and I'm sorry for not giving you the attention you wanted so much. Daddy's sorry, okay? For everything. And I promise you it won't happen again, son." Jamie just nodded to his dad's words and hugged him back. "See you tomorrow, bud." Nathan got up and winked at his son, leaving the room right after. Haley had heard everything but she pretended she had been tempering the salad, since she quickly ran to the kitchen as soon as she heard Nathan walking towards the bedroom's door.

He watched her with the pepper on her hand and when he looked at her face, he figured it all out: she had _so_ heard his talk with Jamie. She was trying to make that innocent face, which meant she was guilty…He laughed to himself, not wanting her to see how well he could read her.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he gently asked her so she would look at him, which she did and for the first time in the entire night, he saw her smile. It wasn't a very large one, but it was still beautiful and breathtaking.

"Sure." _Sure_. How could a four letter word give him such a huge hope? She was certain she would see him tomorrow. That meant something, right? "Nathan, if you need anything at all, I want you to call me. I'm still your wife, I'll be there for you." _I'm __**still**__ your wife?_ How could a four letter word destroy his heart so much?

"Okay. Thank you, Haley." He smiled at her and he prayed to God that she would stop him, invite him for dinner, forgive him and make love to him the rest of the night. But he knew that wouldn't happen... But he could still hope, right? He could still dream... Well, that dream certainly wouldn't come true that day, since he had already left the apartment. And no signs of her yelling and telling him to come back. Nope, that was definitely not going to happen.

"Nathan! Why don't you come in?" he woke up completely overwhelmed. God, he had wanted so much to have dinner with his family last night that he even dreamt about it. Except that the dream had a happy ending... He felt happy though. Things hadn't gone really well last night, but he also wasn't expecting Haley to forgive him from one day to another. But she told him she loved him and that was a start. He now knew he was going to do everything he could to win his family back. Today would start the rest of his life. And the rest of his life started today.


	7. You Fill My Heart

**AN: Well, first of all, my tremendous apologies. I had this chapter prepared but I was sick this last week (virus) and I actually had to go to the hospital and couldn't post it last week as I intended. This delay was not from lack of reviews, I swear, it just wasn't possible for me at all. Thank you very much for all the great reviews, they really are what inspire a writer to continue the stories and I am much appreciated to all of you who decide to give**** me some feedback! Thank you! **

**I also understand that some of you might think Haley is being harsh to Nathan, but I want you to know that I feel that what Nathan did can't be forgiven immediately. He ignored his wife and son for four months! I don't think no one knows what it's like to be completely detached emotionally and physically from the person we love. It's painful, really painful and I really believe the Haley we all know would not forgive him in the blink of an eye. So, enough ramble, here's the next chapter!**

So last night had been good. Way better than she expected… Jamie asked her why daddy didn't stay for dinner and she actually told him the truth, that her and daddy were having a hard time right now. Her boy didn't understand at all though… _The great and complicated adult world…_ She thought the same when she was young… Why are adults such complicated people? Why can't they forget their problems after watching cartoons? It just seems so obvious…

But it had warmed her heart seeing Jamie's happiness for Nathan's comeback. He had always been his hero, his role model and to actually see the smooth brightness on his blue eyes while he rambled about his dad was just priceless.

But what about her? How had she felt? Those were two of the many questions that had robbed her sleep last night. She still didn't know what this all comeback meant. She was certainly happy and proud of Nathan, but she couldn't take out of her head why he had done it. What made him change his mind? Well, looking at the box of ribs in front of her made her realize where she was before she had zoned out on her husband, once again: the grocerie. God, why were these things always so filled up with people at weekends? Thank God, Jamie chose to stay at his uncle Lucas'. When she had dropped him there earlier in the morning, she had told Lucas and Peyton what happened and they were really happy for her. But more than happy, they understood her and got it why she just couldn't forget everything and take Nathan back. She wasn't being stubborn or mean or making him pay for all he did. She wasn't like that… She just needed her heart to heal and time was the only thing that could heal them. Of course she still loved him, of course she still wanted him and of course she would forgive him… She just didn't know when. And she could have easily taken him back last night and tell him he was forgiven, but that would have been a lie and she wouldn't do that. She would fight for them and that's why she was currently holding those ribs. It was Saturday and usually, at Saturdays, they would do a barbecue and spend the day near their pool, fooling around, like a big happy family… Since she had woken up that she had this idea that maybe she could make some prime rib and have lunch with Nathan and Jamie. Just lunch, no pool party or any other stuff they used to do. Just lunch. A simple and innocent lunch. No harm… At all… They were just a family trying to find their way… So, Haley decided to ignore all the voices in her head telling her it wasn't a good idea, grabbed the ribs and started to walk away, only to collide with someone.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled when she looked at all the items that fell on the floor, immediately kneeling and grabbing them: cheese, flour, mustard, milk, onion, pepper, salt, macaroni... "Oh God, I'm such a-"

" klutz. I know, Haley." She immediately looked up at the sound of the familiar voice and saw Nathan chuckling, looking intently at her. Her heart dropped, how he was gorgeous today! Truth be told, he was always gorgeous, but his hair was still wet and he was wearing one of the many shirts she'd given him. Trying not to look like a fool, she smiled at him, completely surprised.

"Hi." She innocently said.

"Hi. Sorry for not helping you picking those things up, but..." he said looking at his crutches.

"It's okay. I was the one making you drop them anyway..." she smiled at him once again, trying to avoid his gaze. "What are you doing here?" this time, Haley couldn't help but notice what he could do with all the ingredients they had just now finished grabbing. _Was he going to do macaroni and cheese?_

"Uh... I needed to buy some stuff..." he nervously replied. God, she was his wife, he didn't need to be that nervous. Yeah, so what she caught him with the ingredients of her favourite meal? You could do so many things with those stuff... Besides, it's not like she would immediately guess he was there to buy everything he needed to do her beloved mac' n'cheese and then he would go her apartment and invite her and Jamie for lunch since it was Saturday and Saturdays were special to them, right?

"Of course! That's what you do in a supermarket, right? Silly question." They both laughed being completely aware of how they currently looked like two shy teenagers who didn't know what to do or say when around the person they loved.

And this time he was the one noticing her little soft hands grabbing a box of ribs.

_Was she going to do prime rib?_

"So..." when did this happen? When did Nathan Scott started acting like this around a girl?... Right, ever since he met Haley. She was not just another girl. She was his wife. The only woman he had loved in his entire life. Of course he would be nervous and afraid of what to say...

"Yeah! I... uh... I have to go. Call me if you need anything." _Why didn't you tell him about the lunch? You're such a wreck, Haley!_

His lips curved downwards, he wanted to stay with her a little more, but then again, why would she want to be with a guy who would say "So..." instead of telling her she was beautiful? Instead of telling her that yellow top made her eyes stand out magnificently? Instead of telling her he wanted her to have lunch with him and work on their marriage? But no, all he said was "So...", he wasn't going to blame her for running away from him. _And why didn't I tell her about the lunch? What a tool!_

"Thanks."

"Okay... I'll go now... Bye." Before she could go away, Nathan grabbed her arm slightly and they both felt the flow of electricity running through their bodies. A simple touch from the other still had that effect on them. Still made them want the other like they never did with anyone else before.

"Wait." She turned around and found his blue beggar eyes looking straight at hers. If there was one thing that would give him courage was her eyes. Her eyes that were always so big and round and shiny and whoa... Breathtaking. Inspiring. Haley. Every single part of Haley was always going to be his resource of greatness. "I was thinking and uh... I want you to know that I don't want to pressure you and it's totally fine if you don't want to, but uh... I was thinking maybe we could have lunch together at our house? Like the old times. Just you, me and Jamie. What do you think?" he had rambled like an idiot! Something was definitely not right... But he was just so afraid that she thought he wanted to hustle everything between them. All he wanted was to have a special Saturday with his family. Nothing more. He would never do anything she didn't feel comfortable with. And Haley knew it. She knew it so well that she was overwhelmed with what he had just said. So they actually had the same idea? She just wanted to scream YES at the top of her lungs, but that wouldn't be a good thing to do so she just tried to calm down, let the pounding of her heart soothe a little and finally managed to get some words out of her lips.

"I'd love to..." oops, in her mind, that was still something dangerous to say... "_We_ would love to." Somehow, she felt safer with that "we", it wasn't just her, but also Jamie. She knew she had to play it safe.

Nathan's all face lit up, he wasn't expecting her to accept... At least that fast!

"Good!" he was so spontaneous and that answer came out so loud and fast that all the other people in the supermarket glanced at them. _Damn it! _"Uh... I mean, I'm really happy... I'll make mac' n' cheese?" he asked her looking at the ingredients and arching his eyebrows as if asking for her permission. He didn't want to ruin it...

"Thank you, Nathan but I don't want you to make any kind of effort. You're still recovering..." Haley was obviously concerned. She knew Nathan way too well and it was pretty clear that even though he was being careful, he wouldn't stop doing some things that could harm him. On the other hand, having the confirmation he was really going to make her favourite meal killed her. It would just kill her every single time her husband did these little things for her that meant so much... It made her feel loved again, like before... "I'll go, but I'll cook, okay?"

"But I really wanted to make you macaroni and cheese..." that was that puppy face that she always found extremely hard to resist...

"I'll cook." She simply stated and he knew way too well what that I-just-said-it-do-not-make-me-repeat-it expression meant so he just cave in knowing it would be a waste of time and Haley's patience.

"Okay. And uh... do you want to come by noon? You know... I would pick you but..." he said looking once again at his crutches.

"Don't worry. Yeah, we'll be there at noon." They kept looking at each other, nodding and smiling until Haley finished it by walking away, much to Nathan's displeasure. "Bye."

"Bye... Haley." His gaze followed her until she was out of sight. God, that had been... strange. They had really looked like a couple of fool teenagers. But he didn't care... All he cared about was the time he was going to spend with his family today. He had to make everything perfect. The house, the kitchen, the living room, the table, the couch, the... The couch. Oh my God, the couch! "Shit!" oh boy, how was he going to get away from this one? Working on his crutches, he made his way to the house as fast as he could. There was no way Haley could see the damn thing!

"So he actually called you last night?" Haley asked her friend, while keeping an eye on Jamie who was playing with some old lady's dog, right in front of them by the riverwalk.

"Yeah. He said he came to see us but we weren't home so he just called to say he was sorry." Peyton confessed, reminiscing about last night's talk on the phone with Nathan. "He said he wanted to meet us, because a phone call was not going to be enough and all..." she was really afraid of how Haley would react to this. Of course she would be happy for Nathan's action, but just the mention of Nathan's name was still somewhat disturbing to her and Peyton knew that so she just insisted in talking calmly and smoothly. "And how do you feel about all this situation?"

"I want to forgive him. I really do. I just... I don't feel ready to do it, you know?" it was always so nice to talk to Peyton. Lucas had always been her best friend, but he was a guy. He didn't know how to give those amazing women advice... "I'm still hurt, Peyton. And I need that pain to go away to forgive him." Peyton understood her. Nathan had put Haley through hell during those four months and obviously she was not going to forget about it so soon. It was a normal behaviour. When you're hurt, you just can't pretend that pain comes from nowhere, you're constantly reminding of what happened and who put that little sucker in your heart... It was life. Real life.

"And how does the pain go away?" Haley thoughtfully smiled at her question.

"Every time I see him. Everytime I see him being the man I always knew he was, the pain washes away a little..." she meant every single word she said. For instance, today at the supermarket, seeing him like that, all ready to cook her favourite meal, a little bit of pain left her soul. These little things would make all the difference... "But at the same time, being around him, I just remember everything he made me go through..." she chuckled a little. It was like good and bad all in one... "Where does that leave me?"

"It's always like that when we love somebody, Haley. The way I see it, Nathan is the only one that can make that pain wash away completely so spend time with him. Yes, it can be hard sometimes, because he was the one putting it there in the first place, but you love him. You want to forgive him. And just by wanting that, soon enough all those awful memories from those months will be transformed in happy memories again." She gave Haley a one arm hug, while they kept walking down the riverwalk. She was right. Maybe spending time with Nathan was the solution... And that solution would certainly make Jamie happy, so it was a win-win situation...

"Thanks. And how are you? You know, we just keep talking about myself and I feel terrible for that! How are you and Luke doing? Are you already torturing that boy's sleep with wedding planning?" both females laughed at her question, knowing way too well how girls could be with weddings...

"Nah, I'm not really worried about it, you know? We want something simple and nice... Not a big deal..."

"Yeah, you really don't look that much like a bridezilla..." they both started laughing again and one more time, Peyton noticed how Haley was different. Last week, she wouldn't be able to make funny remarks like the ones she had been doing this morning. Her face was different, too. Her expression was happier and she would constantly laugh. God, how Nathan was such a huge part of her still amazed Peyton. How they were both such huge parts of each other... "Anyway, who is this person you wanted me to meet?" Peyton had talked to her earlier in the morning and told her she wanted her to meet someone so she just went to Lucas' to pick up Jamie and the two of them and Peyton had walked to the docks. Who the hell did Peyton want her to meet?

"Oh I heard she's awesome!" the familiar voice coming from behind them made Haley turn around and her jaw fell to the floor as soon as she realized who was standing there.

"Brooke!" the three girls immediately started screaming of happiness. They haven't been together in such a long time and they really missed those girls' nights they used to share, all the gossip, the advices, the crying and laughing together... But life had set them apart, throw them in different directions...

"Oh you guys, I missed you so much..." confessed Brooke, hugging her two best friends. She missed Brooke Davis. And even though they kept in touch and talked regularly on the phone, it wasn't the same thing having here. God, her life was really getting better. Her husband was back, her friend was back... Finally everything started to make sense in her life. Again.

"You do know you can't keep this sheet on the couch forever, don't you?" Lucas asked his brother while covering the couch with the large white piece.

"I know. I just... She can't see it. Not today..." he actually felt kind of stupid. He had been so desperate that he had destroyed their couch and well... he was afraid of her reaction. Cutting your couch and writing on it was not something very sane to do... Even though what he wrote only helped him recovering... But still, she couldn't see it. He would tell her and show it to her when he was ready. "Thank you for coming over and help me, Luke. I know I wasn't the best brother... or person for that matter in these last months. I wanted to apologize for that." He honestly said, looking at his brother covering the damn thing. Lucas had always helped him in the hard times and now that he was going to get married, he hadn't been there for him.

"It's okay. I'm proud of you, little brother. For finally coming to your senses..."

"Yeah... Let's just hope my senses help me today with Haley and Jamie..." he was so nervous that not even Lucas recognized him. He had already prepared the table outside in their garden, near the pool but still, that didn't seem enough to calm him down.

"Relax. Hey! It's your wife and your son, you know?" Lucas chuckled, his brother looked like a teenager. Again. It seemed like he had taken this day to act like a kid...

"Shit! Luke, you need to go!" Nathan exclaimed after taking a quick glance at the clock.

"Relax, it's fifteen to noon and you already have everything ready..." but he wasn't convincing him, looking at the way Nathan was already opening the front door, inviting him to leave.

"I know Haley. She'll be here fifteen minutes earlier! And as much as I love you, get that ass out of here." Well, at least even the not so nice ways of saying goodbye came back too... Lucas chuckled one more time and approached the front door, complying his brother's sort of orders. "Thanks for everything, man." Nathan said as they had one of those manly hugs.

"You're welcome. And calm down. Everything's going to be okay."

"Say hi to Peyton for me." As soon as he closed the front door, he hurried to the backyard, he had to check the table one more time. Everything had to be perfect. Everything had to be perfect. He took a quick glance at himself: jeans. Check. Baby blue polo. Check. Cologne. Check. Hair combed... _Ding dong._

His eyes widen. His breathing fast. He soon started shaking uncontrollably with all he was feeling... They were there. She was there. _Oh my God... Okay. Okay. Calm down. Breathe. It will also help if you actually walk and open the door..._

He started walking towards the door while smirking to himself. He knew she was going to be here fifteen or so minutes earlier.

He closed his eyes and breathed one last minute before opening the door. And there they were, their treasures...

"Daddy!" Jamie quickly hugged his leg, knowing he couldn't jump into his father's arms.

"Whoa whoa whoa! There he is! I missed you, boy." He said, passing his hand through Jamie's blonde hair.

"We brought juice!" the little boy exclaimed happier than anything, while raising the bottle in the hair.

"Oh good. Now you'll have two bottles of juice to drink! Go put it on the fridge, buddy." Jamie ran to the kitchen, leaving them alone in the hall. Nathan took in the image of his wife and all of him got salivating. She was wearing a green V neck top and a pair of jeans that made her look like a Goddess. Truth be told, for Nathan Haley always looked like a goddess, even when she was wearing something completely casual, like right now.

She did the same though, admiring how well his body looked on that polo and jeans. And being on his crutches was a huge distraction to her, because his biceps were constantly flexed and therefore, looking absolutely amazing. And there they were, checking out each other and completely aware of it. Nathan smirked a little and Haley blushed at the feel of her husband's eyes on her. For some reason, she still felt uncomfortable so she just started talking.

"Hi. Here's the lunch." She said the bag with food, just like their son had done moments ago. The similar expressions and gestures between mother and son melted his heart.

"You are beautiful." He calmly stated, looking into those chocolate brown eyes of hers. She blushed once again. God, she didn't know what to do. Her husband was complimenting her and she had no idea what to do! "Thanks for the food. I bet it's delicious, as usual." He decided to say. He had noticed her blush and embarrassment and didn't want her to feel that way so he thought it would be better to just change the subject.

"You look good, too." She quickly said and quickly regretted it. Not what she said, but the way she had said it. She had looked like a total dork! _Great! _She just wanted him to know that he looked gorgeous too. The comment took him by surprise, but he was so happy to hear her say those words. Maybe she still found him attractive after all... He smiled and nodded as if thanking the compliment and started walking towards the kitchen, side by side with her. As soon as they entered the living room that was attached to the kitchen, Haley started looking strangely at the couch which didn't go unnoticed by Nathan.

Why was the couch covered?

"Uh... I sent somebody to clean it and they said it was better to cover it for a while due to all the products they used..." bad move. He had just lied to his wife, but what else could he do? Tell her the truth wasn't an option, at least for now. And she seemed to believe his little and inoffensive lie so there was no big deal... When she took the meal out of the bag, the amazing smell of prime rib caught his attention, making him look in her direction and approach her to see it with his own eyes. "Prime rib, huh?" he asked, feeling all warm inside with her gesture.

"Yeah, momma said she was going to do it, because it was your favourite meal!" Jamie told Nathan the truth and Haley widened her eyes at her son for giving her in. It might be good, though... So what if he knew she did it to please him?

"Thanks." Nathan quietly said, looking intently at the smile on her face. She had such a perfect smile... Really, that smile could lighten the darkest room... "Uh... let's eat then!" their hands shocked when they were both preparing to pick up the pot with the prime rib. As soon as they touched each other, they pulled their hands away, afraid of what the other might think, but always aware of the little butterflies on their bellies. A feeling they would always have when around each other. It was just too much passion and love to care.

"Uh... I'll take it." Haley offered, not giving him a chance to fight back and quickly grabbing the pot and walking outside, following her son. The table was beautiful, it had all these little purple flowers all over and she almost dropped the pot when she noticed it. No one else in the world but them knew all the meaning those little flowers had... She searched for his eyes, looking behind her and when their eyes meant, she gave him the most handsome smile he had ever seen. Nathan seriously looked like a silly teenager because he kept looking at her completely overwhelmed, giving her a totally cheesy and loving look.

"I like when you look at mommy like that!" Jamie admitted while chuckling. Being totally caught off guard, Nathan and Haley started giggling at their son's remark. She'd missed that look of him. He would always look at her like that and for the first time in four months, there it was...

After sitting down, they all started eating, Jamie was the main talker, telling all the stories from the school and his friends, how awesome the ice cream his aunt Brooke had bought him earlier was, and although they listened to every single word that came out of his mouth, Nathan and Haley kept glancing at each other the entire lunch. When their eyes would meet, they would always look quickly away.

"So, did you like the cake?" Nathan asked Jamie who was now finishing the last piece.

"It's delicious!" his little boy answered. "Mommy, can I go play _Wii_ with daddy?" the lunch went so great that Haley really didn't have the courage to say no to her son... Nathan was really back. He had been charming, sweet, caring and the thing she appreciated the most: he hadn't flirted with her. He knew she wasn't ready for that and probably wouldn't know how to react so he just didn't do it and she was so grateful to him for that. Nathan had always been a flirty guy, he would constantly flirt with her whenever he had a chance to so she really appreciated his behaviour and concern with her.

"Hey, instead of playing video games, don't you want to play this?" Nathan asked Jamie, handing him his little basketball. It was the first time he was grabbing a basket ball since his accident... It hurt. Knowing he couldn't play anymore, but he wasn't going to make his son unhappy just because of that. If he couldn't play, then he'll be sure he helps his son playing... Jamie's face lit up, the little man had been forgiven by his daddy to play basketball and now there he was, just a moment away from playing again his favourite sport with his favourite guy in the world.

Haley's heart melted, that had been the cherry on top. Her eyes watered a little with his husband's gesture and she smiled worriedly and proudly at him. She knew how hard that must have been to him but he had just put Jamie's happiness over everything else... Knowing exactly what he was feeling at that time, Haley rubbed his back smoothly as to comfort him. Nathan closed his eyes at the touch of his wife, falling all over again for her with that little moment. She knew him. She knew just how he was feeling and how painful it was for him... And she was there, she was right there, right by his side. For better or worse... He looked at her and all he wanted to do was to tell her how he loved her and how much he wanted her, but instead he just smiled and nodded.

"Can I? Sweet!" Jamie's hysteric voice interrupted their moment and not wanting to make his son wait, Nathan got up from the chair and joined his son who was already shooting some hoops.

Haley was marvelled at the scenario. Like father, like son... Jamie started dribbling the ball and throwing it to the hoop, imagining he was his father on the court.

"Beautiful! That was awesome, man!" Nathan shouted when the ball passed the net.

After watching her boys for a while more, Haley started cleaning the table and doing the dishes, even after Nathan's protests, but she wouldn't let him do such thing. If she was there and she could it, why would he make a huge effort to clean everything?

"Jamie sweetie, we have to go. We promised we'd go to uncle Lucas', remember?" Nathan and Jamie had finished their little game a while ago, she wouldn't interrupt the moment between father and son that was so precious not just for her, but for all of them. Nathan's face fell. He didn't want them to leave, never again! Playing with Jamie with Haley watching them had been a miracle, a gift sent from heaven. For the first time in a long time, he had felt worthy of them...

"Bye, daddy! And thank you for playing with me." At his son's words, Nathan kneeled in front of him, carefully not to hurt himself and hugged him.

"You're welcome, buddy. I love you, you know that?"

"I love you, too." It always felt so good when his son would say those little words to him... He just wish she would say it, too... He got up and picked up his crutches again, standing in front of Haley.

"Thanks for the lunch. It was really amazing..." he told her while cupping her cheek, which totally caught her off guard, but she still shivered at the contact and closed her eyes a little. His hands fit her face so well...

"Thank you. And thanks for everything. Uh... I really enjoyed it." She was finding it hard to speak, with his fingers smoothly caressing her skin. Oh God, he was killing her.

_Oh God, she's killing me..._Nathan kept caressing her cheek until he had an inner discussion whether or not he should do what he was thinking to do. What if she thinks it's moving too fast? What if she thinks I want to take advantage of her? What if...? _What the hell! I'm going to do this. _Without thinking twice, he gently put a stray of hair behind her ear, only to put there one of those little purple flowers. Her heart was about to stop. She'd seen the flower on his hand and as soon as she felt him putting the flower on her, she thought she was going to collapse.

"Don't say I never gave you anything." He said with a knowing smile on his face and that was her undoing. She let out the tears she had at the corner of her eyes and they ran down her face, at the same time she smiled lovingly at him. God, she was just so perfect and beautiful. His heart was aching for her, screaming for her, all of her! Just like hers. When she heard him say that... She just wanted to kiss him. Hug him. Tell him how much she loved him and how he was always the star of her dreams...

"Aren't you guys going to kiss like you always do?" Jamie's little voice interrupted the moment and Nathan and Haley looked embarrassed at each other. That's what they wanted the most, no doubt about that. But they both knew they couldn't do it... So, instead, they leaned towards each other, almost crashing their lips together at the clumsy moment, but ended kiss each other's cheek.

"Bye." Haley whispered before taking Jamie's hand and leave the house, after Nathan opening them the door and whispering the "Bye" back.

And even though they were gone, he had a smile on his face. Life was really starting to be amazing again.

**AN 2: Next week I'm going on vacation and I won't UD until then. I'll try to do it as soon as I come back though! **

**(I'll also UD "Dust In Your Pillow" and "It's All In The Game" before going on vacation, if you're reading those stories) Leave me some love! =)**


	8. The World Spins Madly On

**AN 1: Okay, so I'm terribly sorry for this long hiatus. I started my first year in college this September and I had so much things to take care of and so much work to do it's not even funny… But, well, here it is, new chapter! I wanted to thank to Alexis, Sarah, Anne, Beth, kelly, hadley; mazzy, dancinfeet89, sophiaaaaaaaa, naley98, meriam, always and forever, teri, elaine, claud, jason, mariah, me, violet, kayleigh, emily and MM for your amazing reviews! You all don't have an account on , so here is my truthful THANK YOU for reviewing! =) And without anymore delays, here's the new chapter!**

"So you actually had lunch together?" Brooke shrieked with the news. She and Peyton were currently sitting on Haley's couch, waiting for their friend to spill everything about her lunch with Nathan and Jamie.

"Hales, that's great! See? I told you things would get better!" Peyton told Haley, comforting her. She knew Nathan would eventually change and do everything he could to get his family back and it looked like it was working. She hadn't seen Haley with such a wide smile for a long time… Actually, she hadn't seen _that_ wonderful smile of hers in four months… Yesterday, while they were on the park, her smile had already been honest, but this had a particular shine to it.

Haley was happy. She hadn't stopped thinking about Nathan the entire time. Just the way he looked… The way he was… With her and Jamie… Like the Nathan she fell in love with. The Nathan who was the best father and husband in the world. She'd dreamt about him too. She'd dreamt he was holding her in his strong arms, kissing her with his velvet lips and telling her how much he wanted and loved her… But of course, her stupid self had woken up when he was exactly about to profess his love for her one more time. _Damn you!_

"Yeah… They are." Haley confessed looking completely zoned out. That lunch had made her fall in love with him all over again. He'd wanted to kiss her, she'd noticed it. She would always know what Nathan wanted. And perhaps a little part of her wanted him to kiss her. But she wasn't ready… Not yet.

"So… Nathan is Nathan again. You are you. You're both crazy for each other...You're Naley again. Why don't you two get back together?" Brooke asked her. She'd arrived just yesterday but she'd kept in touch with Haley and knew everything about what had happened between her and Nathan. She guessed Haley wasn't ready to take the next step so soon, but they were Nathan and Haley, they will always find their way to each other, everyone knows that. So why couldn't they just get back together already?

"Honestly? I don't know, Brooke… I love Nathan, but I'm hurt. Really bad… It's like…" she paused, unsure of what she was about to say, but Peyton and Brooke kept looking intently at her. They were her friends, they were there for her… They deserved to know what was going on in her head. "… all these years together weren't worth of anything, because he still doesn't trust me and doesn't let me in… And that hurts, you know?" It did hurt, no one but her could tell how it hurt. Besides, she was not naïve. They only had a lunch together, Nathan was still healing, he wasn't 100% recovered and they were far from being _that_ Naley, using Brooke's terms… They still had a long way to go through.

Before they could continue their conversation, Haley's cell phone started to ring, the sound echoing from the end of the hallway.

"Oh I left it in my bedroom… I'll be right back." She quickly added, before leaving the room.

"I'm so glad they're back on track to each other…" Peyton told Brooke, trying not to drop the conversation, but as soon as she saw the mischievous grin on her friend's face, she gave it up. "I know that look… What are you up to, miss Davis?"

"I think we might need to start a new Naley operation…" she whispered.

"Brooke, I don't think that's such a good idea… Yes, we all want them back together and we all know they will someday, but don't you think we should let them fix their problems by themselves? They're adults now. We're adults now and playing 'get back together' operations is a little high schoolish, don't you think?" plus, Peyton knew way too well how Brooke's "genius" plans to get someone together always ended up in a not so good way…

"P. Sawyer, we have to do something! And I wasn't planning to do a 'oh, let's lock them in some place so they can be all alone in the same area for more than 24 hours!'. That's so last year… I was thinking about something a little more sophisticated, so to speak…"

"What?"

* * *

Haley started rolling the keys in order to open the front door. When Nathan had called her this morning to know how she and Jamie had slept, her heart had almost exploded. He was such a sweet and caring human being… Another sign of his comeback… And of her giddiness… She'd asked him how his therapy sessions were going and when he told her he actually had one this morning, she immediately offered to take him to the Tree Hill Pool Complex, where his sessions took place. They had agreed she would come over by ten o'clock and it was only 9.30… She hadn't been able to stay at home and leading with all her stress and those butterflies that insisted on staying there every time she heard Nathan's voice or just his name, actually… So, there she was, opening the door of her house. When she walked in, she noticed the nice smell of strawberries. _Pancakes with strawberries…_, she thought. It was his favourite breakfast. He must have made them, making her smile. It filled her heart knowing how he seemed so healthy… But he was no where to be seen, not in the kitchen, not in the living room where that couch still had a sheet on it, not in the bathroom…

"Nathan." She called him with a semi-desperate tone. What if something had happened to him? What if someone entered the house and…? Trying to get those thoughts out of her mind, she hurried to climb the stairs. Finally on the second floor, she called him once again. Nothing. Now she was worried. Really worried. Where the hell was he? She opened their bedroom's door.

"Nathan, where ar- Oh, I'm so sorry!" she quickly brought her hands to cover her eyes as soon as she entered their bathroom and found him completely naked, getting out of the shower.

"Shit!" Nathan muttered out, he thought he was going to die of scare. He was taking his bath, relaxed, on his own world when he sees Haley standing there. "Do you want to kill me, Haley?" he chuckled. "You scared the hell out of me…" he told her, still looking at her now blushed covered face. He had made no effort to put any clothes on. What was the big deal? She knew his body as well as she knew her own…

Haley's heart was racing madly. She hadn't seen him naked in a while now and to actually be there with him _naked_, in all his glory… yeah, she was feeling things she certainly couldn't be feeling. .. She slowly removed her hands from her face and he was still naked, staring at her. The heat started to form in her body, the way he was looking at her… His magnificent body that only seemed to be even more fit with the physical therapy… She knew she was staring, but she couldn't help it. She'd given him a chance to cover himself and he hadn't done it so it was only fair she stared at her husband… _Her husband._ That made her do her very little smirk… Oh God, she was possessed! One look at her husband's naked body and she was already possessed by some ninfa! God, she wanted him!

God, he wanted her! She was just so beautiful and the way she was looking at him, like he was the most perfect being walking on this planet… And was he seeing things or was she looking at a certain part of his anatomy while smirking? He quickly stopped thinking about possible reasons as to why she was smirking, he couldn't lose control or he would end up showing her physically just how excited he was. She'd feel uncomfortable and he didn't want that so he just started to think about some random thing to talk about while he tried to get a hold of his crutches to walk to the bedroom and put some clothes on. Before he could reach them, Haley already had them in her hands and handed them to him, still not being able to look at him. He thanked her with a smile and noticing the awkwardness of the moment, he started crutching towards the bedroom.

Haley didn't even know how to describe the situation. She couldn't touch him, because if she did, she was afraid of the things she could do. And to watch him walking on his crutches, completely naked, didn't help matters!

Nathan, on the other hand, was pretty satisfied with the entire situation. He never had problems being naked around his wife and the fact that he caught her staring only pleased him. She was so checking him out… And he'd to focus really hard not to smirk… Anything to not make Haley feel uncomfortable. Trying not to look at her and thinking about his mother and all the stupid things Lucas used to tell him (anything but thinking about Haley to not awake certain things), he sat on the bed, resting the crutches against it.

Haley was about to leave, she wasn't seriously going to stay there watching him getting dressed, was she? She wanted, but that was just too much. She had to leave and wait for him outside. Just when she was about to tell him she'd be waiting in the car, she realized he was having some hard time, trying to reach the last drawer of the bedside table that she so well knew contained his underwear. "Oh… I'll… I'll get it." She mumbled before looking at him, kind of asking for his permission.

"Thanks." He quickly said, straightening his back. He hadn't done it on purpose. The hardest part of his days were exactly the parts where he had to dress up. Having to get the clothes out of the closet and being on crutches at the same time was everything but easy.

So Haley approached and kneeled in front of him, making both twitch inside. Trying to focus, she opened the drawer.

"Which do you want?" she asked, not uncomfortable, but a little embarrassed. The thoughts occupying her mind at the moment brought that embarrassment to her face…

"My favourites." He replied. He was somehow testing her. Did she still remember all their silly talks about boxers and all the discussions they had about it? He had his answer when she handed him the black piece with the funny little white adorning ghosts. Those were the boxers she'd given him in the last year's Halloween. They both still remembered Nathan's goofy face when he unwrapped the gift and saw the boxers. His wife was such a dork! To Haley, that had been one of the gifts that you buy someone just because you know they're funny and silly, at the same time. But Nathan had loved those boxers ever since and she knew it. He smiled at her and grabbed the garment while Haley tried his best to ignore the fact her husband's naked manhood was just there, in front of her. Before she could lose herself, she got up, their eyes never leaving each other's. But Haley knew that look on his face, she knew, by the way his eyes were contemplating her, that he needed something else.

"Do you… uh… do you need help with the rest?" Nathan had hoped she'd understand his look. He was adoring the fact she was there helping him. She always was, but to help him getting dressed was a big step and he thanked whoever made her do it. He really needed it, though. Otherwise he would probably end up taking more than an hour to accomplish his task…

"I'd appreciate that." He quietly answered as he saw her approaching the closet and opening it, searching for something he could wear.

And even though she wasn't showing it at the moment, Haley was trembling everywhere. _You can do this_, she thought. Nathan needed her, her husband needed her and she was going to be there for him, like she promised. And she wanted to be there, she was just… afraid. Afraid of how he made her feel.

"Have you thought of anything or…?" she asked him while chuckling a bit.

"You choose." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. He knew he had just flirted with her, mainly because of the smirk he had plastered on his face while answering her. Damn, he was an idiot… He just couldn't resist when Haley was around. "I mean, you have a great taste, Haley so you pick what you think it'll be okay for me." He tried to mend and much to his surprise, she didn't seem uncomfortable with his sort of approach…

Haley didn't know why, but a huge part of her loved that he had flirted with her. Somehow, it proved he still wanted her? So she just smiled happily at him and proceeded to find a long sleeve shirt and a pair of trousers for him. "Do you like these?" she asked, showing him a dark blue long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans.

"They're perfect." He replied, watching her approaching him and standing before him. When she was about to grab his strong arms to help him, she noticed a big square dressing at the top of his right arm. She brushed her fingers softly through it and looked at him with a questioning look. "Oh… Whitey took me to the hospital the other day to make some analysis and I took a vaccine and they put me this, because it's still a little sore..." he quickly told her, informing of the situation. Haley felt bad. It shouldn't have been Whitey taking him to the hospital; it should have been her… "Hey, don't worry. You were at school, you couldn't go with me…" he assured her, reading her mind and knowing way too well she was upset she didn't get to go with him.

"And everything's okay, right?" she asked him worriedly. A worry that only made Nathan smile, she obviously still cared about him and the preoccupation was evident in her voice.

"I'm okay." He assured her, cupping his cheek with his hand and caressing her face with his thumb. They both felt the shivers running through their bodies, as it always would happen when they touched each other. Afraid of everything she was feeling, Haley grabbed his biceps, delirious with the feeling of touching his arms like she hadn't touched in four months, and pulled them up so she could put the shirt on his body. She tried not to, but she just couldn't help it: while she made sure she didn't hurt him, she kept staring at his chest… So perfectly toned and his abs always so well defined. God, how was she going to get out of there when all she wanted was to caress his entire body and love him like she'd been dreaming for these last four months?

The way her hazel brown eyes were admiring his chest combined with his soft little fingertips innocently caressing his skin, made Nathan lose all his power. His wife was just so sexy and beautiful and kin-hearted and overall perfect that he needed to have her. He missed her. He missed their cuddles on that same bed, at the end of each day, he missed all the flirty and goofy talks, all the passionate kisses, the astonishing lovemaking sessions when Jamie was fast asleep… He missed it. He missed her… And with that, he was gone. When Haley was about to kneel to put his boxers on, she felt it. She didn't need to look to know what it is… She knew way too well the feeling of it… But when she looked down and saw her husband's erect penis, she froze and just kept looking at it. She knew how much she missed being with him, making love to him like there was nothing more important in the world… She knew she'd been fantasizing about him for the last four months… She knew how while during those months every single night she just prayed to him to get better, climb on their bed and loved her like only he could… She knew she was horny, even though she wasn't a fan of the word, because it looked too raunchy, but it was the truth. She knew she wanted him. She knew he wanted her. What was there left to say?

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry, Haley!" Nathan quickly apologised as he realized how he hadn't been able to control himself. Truth be told, he'd wanted to be like this every since the first second he'd seen her walking into the bathroom. He couldn't have done this. Now Haley was going to think he was a freak behaving like some horny teenager! And she was going to freak out, because… of everything it meant. She didn't even anything anyone could consider erotic, but there he was, hard as a rock! He nervously shifted on the bed, trying to hide his manhood but that was just something impossible to do. "I just… I…" Haley kept staring at him. She just didn't know what to do and her womanhood was starting to respond at the sight… She just wanted to throw herself at him and get lost in him! He was her husband, she could and should have sex with him… Yeah, they weren't ready for it, but they hadn't done it for more than four months… They never had such a huge celibate time… Never. And they both had needs, they both were dying to have sex, to die from pleasure… Would it be so bad to just have sex and put their problems behind their backs for a day? Just sex… It was just sex…

"It's okay. Don't worry." She breathlessly said. "You… uh… should…" she slowly gestured towards the shower, trying to let him know having a cold shower was the best thing he could do right now. She didn't know how she'd find the strength to say, but somehow, she ignored all the voices of temptation and did the right thing.

"I'm so sorry, Haley!" he quickly got up from bed as quickly as he could, not even letting her help him. She couldn't touch him, otherwise, things would just be harder. Literally…

"Uh… Okay. Call me then so I can… help you dress up…"

"NO!" he shouted in an embarrassed way. "Because if you help me again; I… uh… I'm certain I won't be leaving the shower anytime soon…" Haley swore she knew every single expression of Nathan's, but she'd never seen the one that was currently adorning his face… A mix of a smirk and a pout… It was gorgeous, just like all the others… But she was also mortified with the situation… In normal circumstances, he wouldn't have to take a cold shower… She'd take care of it. But not now… Now was different and she couldn't deny the present reality. But that didn't mean she had to forget the former reality… The reality that made her realize even more just how she missed her husband, making love to him, cuddle with him, argue about stupid things like if the airwaves of one of her pyjama shirts were light blue or light green, what was better: taco sauce or chicken fingers… All those random things she no longer had… But did he remember how much fun they used to have while doing it? Did he miss those moments just like she did? Haley kept asking herself that outside the bedroom when Nathan smiled at her before closing the bathroom's door. She decided to go to Jamie's room, she hadn't been there in a long time… All those nights where she had to listen to her son saying uncle Lucas loved him instead of his daddy and how Jamie would keep asking her why daddy was so sad were still pretty fresh in her mind. But, somehow, for some reason, thinking about all those moments didn't bludgeon her heart, at least the way it used to… It was like… it was lighter, you know? But lighter wasn't completely forgotten and forgiven… Lighter was better, but it still wasn't great… She heard the water falling on the bathroom and smiled with the way it sounded… She just loved hearing the sounds of water… It was always so soothing and a sense of freedom would always come to her… But then the water stopped and she walked towards their bedroom, stopping at the door. This time, she wouldn't just barge in so she knocked on the door and asked him if everything was okay and if he needed any help.

"No, don't worry, Haley. Thank you. I did this countless times before, I can do it now, too." Nathan shouted from the inside. It was the truth… He, more than anything, wanted Haley to dress him up and to have her as close to him as possible, but he knew himself way too well and sooner or later, he'd end up in the same state of excitement… And embarrass yourself once in front of your wife was enough for the day… He didn't need another one of those moments… "I'll just take longer, but we still have time… Don't worry." After his reassurance, she couldn't insist anymore…

"Okay. I'll be waiting for you, then. But, please Nathan, call me if you need help, alright?" she asked and she was already imagining him rolling his eyes over the other side of the door, like he'd always do whenever she got on 'overprotective' mode. He rolled his eyes, but he loved it. She knew it. He knew it. There wasn't anything else to discuss.

After he replied a simple 'okay', Haley climbed down the stairs and went to the living room where she hoped she could sit on the couch while waiting for him to get ready. Sure, the thing had those sheets covering it, but she could still sit on it, right? As soon as she sat down, Haley felt the cushions very strange, like some part of it was missing… Getting herself up, she gently started to remove the large white cloth, shock hitting her face as she slowly under covered it… What was all that? How… Why did he do this? Haley kept staring at the couch for a few minutes, trying to find a possible explanation for what Nathan had supposedly done… Suddenly feeling too thirsty, she went to the kitchen to drink a glass of water and just when she was done, Nathan appeared in the living room.

_Shit! _was the first thing that came to his mind when he saw the couch uncovered and his wife eyeing him suspiciously. She knew it… He should have known better, keeping the damn thing with a sheet was never a solution! "Haley, look I…"

"Why did you do it?" she calmly asked him. She just wanted to know what had gotten into him and why he'd done such thing to the poor couch…

The truth was the best answer and Nathan wasn't planning to lie to her. Now that she had found it, telling her the truth was the best thing to do… "I made that the day you and Jamie left. I was so pissed at myself for making you go through all of this, making you suffer that I had this rage attack and all I managed to do was to release all my fury on the couch… and to remind myself the two reasons in this world why I had to stop acting like that…" he looked once again at the couch and at the big _Jamie_ and _Haley_ figures on it, made with the tore up feathers… "I didn't want you to see it, that's why I put that sheet over it…"

"So it wasn't because of the cleaning as you deliberately told me?" Haley asked him a little more judgmental.

"I'm sorry, Haley. I didn't want you to know so I had to say it… I'm sorry." he said honestly.

"And why didn't you want me to see it?"

"Why? Haley, I made your life a living hell for these last four months, I ignored you and my son and as if that wasn't enough, I destroyed our couch and almost every piece of furniture in this living room... _Our_ living room…. I didn't want you to see it how badly I had it…" there he was… That insecure kid she knew way too well… It was like they'd turned back in time and he was once again on her bedroom telling her how much he needed and wanted her… Haley kept looking at him with a (com)passionate look. She loved him. She loved how he had written that on the couch and loved even more the reason why he'd made it. She didn't care about the stupid couch, he could've burnt it, it wouldn't make a difference. She just wanted him to be okay and understand what was going through his head at that time. Couldn't he see that? Why the freaking hell would she care about a couch? She closed her eyes while sighing and then she approached, cupping his face with her hands.

"First of all, you didn't make my life a living hell, Nathan. I think we both know I didn't like how you handled things and how you behaved, but I wasn't exactly innocent, either." She let it all out, everything she'd been thinking about for these last month and that she refused to even acknowledging to herself…

"What do you mean? Haley, you did nothing wrong…" he told her still with a questioning look on his face.

Tears started forming in her eyes and she was about to move back, but Nathan's arms gripped her waist and she didn't have the strength to fight him so she just stayed there, tearing up while looking at his still confusing expression. "What kind of wife abandons her husband who is depressed and on a wheeling chair, Nathan? What kind of wife does that make me?"

"Haley, you did that after you warned me countless times before and when I didn't even say a thing! It was the only way I could change and, honestly, if you haven't done it, I wouldn't have had my 'wake-up' call! This is not your fault!" now was his turn to grab her face with his hands and hug her. His chest silenced her cries, but he knew her better than that, he knew she still felt guilty. "Don't do this, Haley. You always do it: don't blame yourself for something that it's not your fault…" by this point, they were both tearing up together and gasping, that subject being an incredibly sensitive topic for them both… "I remember everything. I remember how caring, sweet and amazing you were when I got home from the hospital, Haley. I remember how you wouldn't go to school, do your job, to stay with me: feeding me, trying to make me feel better, make me massages, giving me my pills, soothing me by caressing me with those soft fingers of yours… I remember how hard you tried to let me know there were so many other things out there that I great at other than basketball and how you were such a great wife to me… But I wasn't a husband to you, I never responded to your actions, I never thanked you for being there for me… And, obviously, one day you stopped. And you only did it because this jackass told you so… This is my entire fault, baby! And I won't let you feel guilty about this!" She didn't even know what to say or what to think… She just knew that somewhere deeply, she'd always felt somewhat guilty for everything that had happened… And with Nathan's speech her pain felt lighter again. She responded to him with a nod, driving him nuts. The way the sun was framing her face, her big brown eyes shining with the tears and her delicious lips as covered with tears, making them look swollen made him lost his mind and, without thinking twice, he tightened his grip to her face.

"God, I love you!" he quickly pushed her face to him and kissed her cheek in a prolonged kiss, not wanting to ever let her go...

**AN 2:**** I'm not a fan of finishing chapters with cliff-hangers, but this one really has to. Sorry. And I know some people may think Haley's kinda contradicting herself. Well, if you feel that way, good. That's my intention. I try to write this story in the most natural and realistic way possible and I think it's natural that Haley feels sort of lost and feels everything at the same time. It's normal and how I picture the Haley from the show feeling. Because let's be honest: she has a lot going on and she's constantly trying to be the best wife, the best mother, the best friend, the best teacher… and, eventually, she'll have to crash against herself and some things she believes in, that's where I'm taking her character. Any suggestions of scenes, let me know =) RR, please!**


	9. Healing Inside Out

**AN: Wow. 2 almost 3 months without updating this story. I think I've hit my record and I'm really ashamed by it. I just was suffocating with my work in college and, to be honest, I couldn't seem to find inspiration to write this chapter. But I found it in the last few days and I think I'm back on track. Terribly sorry for what happened but I assure you it won't happen again. I'll never be taking all this time to update again. Thank you so much for your reviews and for being so kind, even when I take a long time to UD. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and I wish you all an amazing 2011! And my own little celebration: here's the next chapter!**

Nathan continued leaving soft kisses on her cheek, feeling the salty tears on his lips. He missed kissing her like this, he missed everything about her! Just like Haley did… She could only be dreaming, because there was no way she was feeling that much pleasure with her husband just kissing her cheek. And then the part where he'd said he loved her... He hadn't said that for more than four months and she missed it. She missed being loved, she missed being with her husband… But he was there. It was all there. His lips were doing miracles on her cheeks, but then reality struck her and she gently pulled him away. Nathan looked at her embarrassed and worried. He knew he shouldn't have done that, but he just couldn't control himself, from kissing her and tell her he loved her. It was the truth, how could he control it? He'd never been able to control his love for his wife…

"We should go. You're already late for your session." These were the only words Haley was able to release. She was running away from the big thing, she was running away from him and she knew it. She just needed to think about what had just happened. But was she doing the right thing? Had she hurt him with her choice of words? I mean, he just told her he loved her for the first time in God knows how long and she says… _We should go_….But Nathan knew she wasn't ready and he was immensely stupid for telling her he loved her. He had gotten too carried away with the moment and the moment he realized what he said, it was too late. Damn him and his stupid lack of control around her!

"I guess you're right." He calmly said after looking at his watch. Awkwardly, Haley tugged at his right arm, helping him walk over the front door and towards the car. His previous adventure to put some clothes on had scared her and made her see how much help he still needed. And like Nathan had just read her mind, a small smile tugged at his lips.

The car ride was silent. Neither knew what to say, really. Haley kept focused on the street and Nathan would take quick glances at her, admiring her like he always used to whenever she was so focused. He smiled when he noticed how her eyebrows were a little quirked, like they would always be… And her nose was perfect. He always swore Haley's nose was perfect, her nose (and Jamie's too) was actually the only nose he thought to be beautiful in this world. Jamie's was beautiful too, but it was different. Haley's was… he didn't know how to describe it but it fit her face amazingly. Then her lips... Those lips that were responsible for a great part of the pleasure and love he'd felt in his life. The way they would kiss them… The way they were such a turn on whenever she put that light red lipstick that he loved… The way they looked when she was singing… The way they framed her perfect smile… Suddenly, his daydream about her ended when he noticed the car stopping. They had arrived.

After entering the building and going to the locker room to change, Nathan arrived at the pool where the grumpy Mrs. Hockley grabbed his arm, as usual, to make sure he didn't fall. Mrs. Hockley was about 50 and she had to be the most unmanageable person walking on this world. She didn't even look like a nurse with her antipathy and her constant 'whatever' look. Nathan hated her. He just wanted to grab her and drown her on the pool so she could shut up that mouth of hers and that '_I wish you wouldn't be here so I could be home eating my ho-hos_' look on her face. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh but he just didn't like the woman. And suddenly all his thoughts about Mrs. Hockley flew out of the window when he saw Haley talking to the man he knew way too well by now. Nick Campbell. His therapist. Suddenly, a rush of jealousy hit him. It was stupid though. He knew Haley and he knew Dr. Campbell. But that would happen to him every time Haley talked to a male human being.

"Hello, Nathan. I was just telling your wife how much you have evolved in these last couple of weeks." Dr. Campbell said as Nathan approached the two of them and Mrs. Hockley had left. Haley tried to control her breath at the sight of her husband in just swimming shorts. Today was definitely a day to make her blush... "Have you had any problems lately?"

"Yes, I still have some trouble kneeling..."

"He has pain in his back..." completed Haley, in a protective and worried wife mode.

"That's natural. Your back was severally injured and although the surgery, the medicine, the physical therapy and the crutches are helping you recovering, nothing is as efficient as time. But there's no reason for worries. Remember the exams you ran last week? I talked to Dr. Gordon and he told me everything's stabilized right now. And as for the kneeling problem, don't worry. We'll do an exercise today that will relieve your pain. But you have walked well, haven't you?"

"Yes. While walking, I have no pain. Everything's fine."

"Great then. Kneeling hurts you because your back bends and there's more pressure made on the backbone. But don't worry, we'll work on that now. Are you ready?" Nathan nodded and smiled shyly at Haley. He was happy to hear the news that he was evolving in a great way. And it made him even happier that Haley was there by his side sharing the moment with him. Haley replied with her own smile of hers. To say that she was thrilled with the news was an understatement. She was proud of him. A few weeks ago he had been a mess and now... he was back on track.

"Let's go then. Mrs. Scott, you can go and sit on the bleachers if you want to." informed Dr. Campbell.

"Thank you." Haley said before smiling at both men and getting away from them to go and sit on the front bleachers. Haley looked around and thought the place looked nice. There were only about 10 people there and she noticed how the majority of them were children. It shocked her to be honest. Watching little kids in those situations was never easy, but she felt at ease when she noticed they were smiling and had no major injuries.

The session lasted for an hour and a half and Haley had a smile plastered on her face the entire time... except when Dr. Campbell and Nathan had done the kneeling exercise. Nathan didn't scream or anything but she knew by the look on his face that he was in pain. Luckily, his expression changed in a couple of minutes and he started doing the exercise with no killing pain. She noticed how he was so focused and committed to do everything and get better. That was who Nathan Scott was after all...

As soon as Haley saw Dr. Campbell and Nathan leaving the water, she went to them. The huge smile on her face left Nathan awestruck.

"You did so great!" she told him exploding of pride.

"Thanks, Hales." Her words had meant everything to him. Just to know that she had liked and that she was proud of him... That's what he had been wishing for months now... For her to feel proud of him again.

"You are certainly right, Mrs. Scott. Nathan did great."

"Now I can kneel without feeling like someone's stabbing me!" Nathan said with a goofy smile, causing Haley to do the same.

"Yes." Said Dr. Campbell while chuckling. "And now you can kneel all you want that you won't have any major pain since we already got you used to it. You still need to be careful, though. Remember, no rushed movements."

"Sure." Haley and Nathan nodded at the same time before looking at each other for their synchrony.

"Now go get dressed, but afterwards I want to talk to you in my office." Dr. Campbell stated as soon as he saw Mrs. Hockley approaching Nathan to take him back to the locker room. "Don't worry. I just want to talk to you two in a more formal and private way." He said with a smile before walking away from them. Mrs. Hockley grabbed Nathan's arm once again and turned her back at Haley who was just about to say 'hello'. But she quit it when she saw Nathan rolling his eyes.

"Wait for me at the reception." He said, before being dragged out by Mrs. Hockley. He just wanted Haley to be the one helping him get to the locker room, but rules were rules and no one, outside doctors, nurses and patients could access that area of the physical therapy clinic.

Haley watched her husband being dragged away by some really rude old nurse. The clinic overall was amazing, but maybe they should change some of the staff... She could tell Nathan couldn't stand the woman and just by the way she had ignored her, she didn't like her too. But those thoughts soon left her mind as she asked herself what could possibly Dr. Campbell have to say to them both in a 'more formal and private way' while she walked to the reception... He'd said not to worry so it would be pathetic for her to be concerned about it, but still... She couldn't take that terrible feeling out of her head...

Suddenly, her purse started vibrating and a familiar ringtone was heard.

"Hello?" she said after grabbing her cell phone and seeing Lucas as the caller ID.

"Hey. So, how did it go?"

"It went great. Nathan's doing really fine and the doctor said he's doing a really nice recovery! I'm so thrilled, Luke!" she couldn't hold the excitement, she just couldn't.

"That's so good to hear, Hales. I'm glad Nathan's doing great... and I'm glad you're happy."

"Thank you."

"So listen, why don't you come by the café? There's something I need to tell you." the tone of his voice didn't please Haley very much. Did something happen?

"Is Jamie okay?" she quickly asked, her mother instincts acting on full force.

"Yeah, Jamie's fine, don't worry. It's nothing to do with him."

"Then what is it?"

"That's why I'm asking you to come by the café... I can't tell you this over the phone." why the hell was Lucas acting so weirdly? Before she could think more about it, she saw Nathan and Dr. Campbell walking towards her.

"Okay, I'll be there in half an hour, okay? I got to go now." And she hung up just before both men reached her.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked looking at his wife's worried frown.

"I am. It was Lucas, he was acting weirdly..." she replied as they started walking to the elevator.

"And is that news?" Nathan asked teasingly before the elevator's doors closed.

* * *

"The reason why I wanted to talk to you two is because of this." Dr. Campbell stated as he handed Nathan a folder with a bunch of papers inside. Nathan looked questioningly at him. What was that for? "Open it." He said. With Haley's help, Nathan opened the folder and looked at the papers content. They looked like... "Examinations results." Nathan and Haley lifted their heads from the papers and kept looking at the doctor. They weren't getting what he was trying to say or do. "Those papers you have in your hand are the results of the examinations I've been making you since your first therapy session. In the end of each session, I would come in here and make some notes about what you did, how you reacted to certain exercises, how far you would go… among other important details. After talking to Dr. Gordon I joined all the notes I had made and analysed them. And according to my experience and seeing how much you have evolved, I want to tell you that you can stop wearing crutches." Nathan and Haley's eyes widen with Dr. Campbell's information. So he was getting rid of those awful things? "You said you had no problems walking and that's exactly what the crutches are for. I don't see the need of you continuing to use them. But you're still keeping those, just in case." He said pointing at the crutches Nathan had in his hands. Nathan looked at Haley and laughed as she softly hugged him, thrilled with the news. They both realized they stayed in each other's embrace a lot more time than they should have and Haley awkwardly pulled them away, running away from his eyes with her own. It seemed that there was only awkwardness between them nowadays... Trying to get that thought out of his head, Nathan looked at Dr. Campbell who had just started talking again. "And there's more. I want you to know that although you're making an excellent recovery, it doesn't mean that you're 100% healthy and can lead the life you had before the accident. There are still some limitations and you have to be tremendously cautious. Your back is still not entirely recovered and you should avoid intense physical activities... like sex." As soon as the words left his mouth, Haley's cheeks turned bright red. Didn't Dr. Campbell know that she and Nathan were going through a tough time, therefore there was no sex to avoid? And how could a 3 letter word send her back to amazing, _freaking_ amazing moments from the past? Nathan didn't even know what to say. He knew sex wasn't even something to worry about, because there was no way he was going to have it anytime soon. He looked at Haley with an apologetic look and his inside all smiled at the redness of her face. She would always do that... and he loved it. "I know it can be hard to be celibate as my patients all seem to declare, but remember it's for your own good. And you can always make up for it when you're fully recovered." Said Dr. Campbell as he smiled.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Nathan blurted out for the hundredth time. "I never told Dr. Campbell that we were having some problems…"

"Don't worry about that, Nathan." Haley assured him, taking the eyes out of the road for a second to look at him. She didn't blame Nathan for what happened, that would be ridiculous. They were married, after all. And, obviously, married couples have sex. Dr. Campbell was doing his job warning them and Nathan wasn't the one responsible for her body reactions. Well… he was but it's not like he does it on purpose. Well… sometimes he does. But not this time.

But she wondered and she was afraid to ask but her curiosity took the best out of her. "But didn't he… like… ask for me… when I wasn't in the previous sessions?" she gagged a little, ashamed with herself. The guilt of not being there for Nathan still made her feel sick to the stomach. But she had choices to make and her son to consider…

"He did. But I told him you couldn't make it." Haley just nodded.

"I guess he must have a pretty good impression of me, huh?" she asked rhetorically, almost like beating herself up.

Nathan knew what she was doing. Knew way too well what she was doing.

"No! Haley, you were taking care of our son and you had students waiting for you. Besides, I didn't even tell you I was going in there..." Nathan tried to comfort her.

"And why didn't you?" she asked, not getting her eyes away from the road.

"Because I wanted to show you I could do this by myself."

"That's exactly what marriage isn't supposed to be! I know you're strong and that you can take care of yourself but I still want to be part of everything you do." her voice came out harsher than what she had intended. She was mad but knew she hadn't a right to be.

"You had just walked out the door and told me to forget you existed! I thought you didn't care about me anymore…" he suddenly felt her stop the car in the side of the road. She put her hands on her hair, closed her eyes and breathed in.

"I know. I'm sorry." She calmly said, taking her hands out of her head and looking intently at him. "That whole day was a mistake… I should have never left, Nathan…" he looked at her and started seeing the tiny drops begin to form on her eyes. "I was just feeling trapped in there… There was nothing I could do to make you stop being like that and I was desperate… I thought leaving would make you realize what you were missing and-"

"And it did!" he said gripping her hair lightly and holding her face in both hands at the same time. "It did! It hurt like hell watching you walking out of that door, Haley. But I thank God every single day that you did it. I told you once and I'll tell you again: that day was my waking up call. So don't ever regret that!"

"But I shouldn't have been away from you all that time… I-"

"I needed you to do that. You needed to do that, for you and for Jamie."

"But I hurt you with that, didn't I?" Haley asked, the tears now streaming on her face. Nathan didn't answer her. He kept looking at her, trying to find an honest answer that wouldn't hurt her. "I knew it…" she said, closing her eyes again and crying even more.

"It hurt me, Haley. But, to be honest, I feel like I'm being selfish, you know? Because you were there for me for those four months. You were there whenever I needed you. And I feel selfish for being hurt with you leaving, because you did everything when I did nothing. You tried and I did nothing. So yes, it hurt me. It hurt me knowing I was the one responsible for that." She loved him. She loved how he had no problem admitting he had screwed up…

"I'm so sorry, Nathan…" she apologetically said, cupping his face with her right hand and caressing his face with her thumb. Nathan closed his hands, enjoying the feeling of her touch as he also caressed her face with his hands.

"I'm sorry too."

* * *

"Momma!" Jamie shrieked as he started running towards Haley and Nathan who had just walked in on Karen's Café. "Hi, daddy!" the little boy waved at his father as Haley grabbed his arms and pulled him up to her, leaving a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Hey, baby. How was your day?" she asked her son, taking a few steps back so Nathan could muffle the little boy's hair.

"Uncle Lucas and I made mud dolls!"

"Yeah, I believe... Uncle Lucas always had a thing for mud..." Haley let out sarcastically and saw Lucas coming out of the kitchen eying her in a pseudo angry look.

"How come?" Jamie asked, not understanding how someone could have a thing for mud...

"He was always falling in the mud when he was a kid..."

"Hey, watch it! It's not my fault that you were always attracting the bad guys..." Lucas warned her giving her a kiss on the cheek and then doing one of those manly hugs with Nathan. "I already know you did great, man! Wait..." Lucas paused, looking up and down his brother...

"I know I'm sexy, Luke but you don't need to be checking me out so bluntly..." Nathan told him with a smirk on his face causing Haley to laugh out loud.

"You're not using your crutches!" Lucas blurted out, astonished. Nathan and Haley looked at each other again as if they wanted to share their happiness together. 'As if' no... They really wanted to share their happiness together.

"No, I'm not. The doctor said I would be fine without them."

"That's great!" Lucas told him one more time, a huge smile on his face, happy for seeing his brother going back on track. Haley tried to find something strange on Lucas's expressions but she had noticed nothing until now.

"It is. But he still needs to be careful, though..." Haley reminded the two of them. She really didn't want people to think that Nathan was 100% okay. She wanted people to still be careful around him.

"Lucas! I don't know where..." Peyton's voice made everyone in the café turn the attention to the blonde coming out of the kitchen... with a really wary look on her face. "Oh thank God. Jamie's here..." she breathed out in relief before approaching her friends. They all talked for a while, the main theme of the conversation being Nathan's recovery and everyone congratulating him on the recovery, including Karen who, meanwhile, had arrived and joined them.

"So what do you kids want to eat? It's almost lunch time." asked the older woman.

"Oh, don't worry, mom. I'll get us something." Lucas assured her, getting up from his chair and making a quick and discrete sign to Haley.

"I'll help you!" she jumped off her seat instantly.

"Do you need help?" asked Peyton looking at Lucas and Haley who frantically shook their heads. "Okay..."

"Is everything okay? What do you have to tell me, Luke?" asked Haley as soon as they got in the kitchen. Lucas looked around to make sure there was no one else in there.

"I went to visit someone today... at the prison."

"You went to see Dan?" asked a shocked Haley trying to control the level of her voice.

"No. Not Dan... Jet Streamer." Haley froze death in the spot... What... Why would Lucas go and talk to the men who had thrown her husband out of that damn window?

"And why would you do that, Lucas?"

"I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to know what actually happened that night..." she didn't even want to think about that awful night. It had been just something to forget for the rest of her life...

Haley didn't get to see _them_. She had taken off because of the babysitter, thinking Nathan would be okay without her. But she never got to see Greg and his group provoking Nathan. On the day after the accident, the police had called her saying one of the men in the group – and the one who had thrown Nathan out of the window – had been arrested for assault. She'd been relieved but Greg and the rest of the group was still out there and that scared her. What if they came back? What if they wanted to pick on him again?

"And what did you say?"

"It's more what did _he_ say..." Haley looked at him with a pleading look on her face. What was he waiting for to tell her? "He said he was left by Greg and the group hence why he got arrested... And he said he wanted to revenge them for leaving him all by himself..."

"And?" Haley asked impatiently.

"He said Nathan's accident wasn't an accident." her eyes narrowed at the words her best friend had just spilled out. Did he just say that what happened to Nathan wasn't a random bar fight? "Greg and the rest of the guys worked for the Blazers."

"The jacket's company?" asked Haley confused causing Lucas to chuckle a bit even when they were talking about such a serious topic.

"No... The _Portland Trail Blazers_. It's a NBA team. _Seattle Sonics_' biggest rival to be precise... Greg and the rest of the gang were hired by Ebony Howl, Blazer's president. It seems that Howl and some Blazer's scouts had been watching Nathan in Maryland. They knew how valuable he was but the Sonics were faster and drafted him first. Knowing that Nathan was going to be tough competition to them, they acted on it and paid those guys to get a rise out of him so they could... injury him." Haley was shocked with the amount of information. So some idiot tycoon had planned all of this? Had planned everything to injury her husband? She felt rage taking control of her body and all she felt like doing was going to Portland and make the idiot pay for everything he did to her family... God! _Just breathe, Haley. Just breathe._ "At least this was what Jet told me..."

"Couldn't he be lying? What if this is some kind of sick plan, Luke?" Haley closed her eyes and shook her head for a moment. "I... I just can't believe that someone could do this!"

"It's the NBA, Hales. It's the world of sport. Everything can happen... And the rivalries can make people do crazy things like this... I don't know, Hales but he seemed to be honest about it..."

"Whether it's true or not, we have to do something. We can't ignore this... My God..." Haley said breathlessly, still not believing almost everything that had happened to her and her family in the last months could be part of some sick scheme... "We have to tell Nathan." There was just no way that he couldn't know. He deserved to know it.

"I know. I just wanted to talk to you first. I think you should be the one telling him."

"No. We should tell him. Both of us. Luke, you were the one talking to Jet and I don't know a thing about basketball..." she pleaded and Lucas just nodded, agreeing with her.

"How do you feel about this?" he asked, rubbing her back smoothly.

That was a really nice question... How did she feel about it?

"I just found out someone hurt my husband _on purpose_ to destroy his career, his dream... How do you think I feel? I want to hurt the bastard!" she said, anger plastered in her face as she grabbed a knife on the counter. She needed to clench something to release her anger and the knife was what was at hand.

"Okay, maybe it's better we get out of the kitchen..." Lucas warned her with a goofy smile on his face as he took the knife out of her hands.

"Great... Now I look like a psycho..."

"Just relax. Let's wait until we tell Nathan and then we'll decide what to do."

"But one thing I assure you. If this story really is true, whoever did this is going to pay." Haley just didn't know what was going on with her, she was never a vindictive person but you mess with Nathan and Jamie, you mess with her. She wasn't going to go all psycho or anything, she just wanted those people to rot in jail for the rest of their lives. Have the punishment they deserved. What if something even more serious had happened to Nathan? What if he...? She didn't even want to think about it, she just knew she wasn't going to relax until she knew what truly had happened. But for now, the best thing to do was to try and forget it all. Her life, Nathan and Jamie's was, as always, the top priority.

* * *

"Thank you for watching Jamie." thanked Haley to Lucas and Peyton when her and Jamie were about to leave the café. It was almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon and they still had some things to deal with.

"Yeah, thank you for that." added Nathan. Lucas and Peyton smiled at each other, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. They hadn't seen Nathan and Haley behaving like a couple in a little while, but today certainly had been different. Maybe something had happened between them while they were at the physical therapy session? "And thank you for the lunch, Karen. I missed being around here."

"I'm sure now you'll be spending a lot more time here." Karen replied to him with a smile on her face while looking at Haley at the same time. Nathan returned the smile. He hadn't quite understood what Karen had meant with that, though. He'd never frequented Karen's Café very much, except when Haley worked there as a waitress. But maybe Karen was just being nice and telling him he could go there a lot more times now? He shrugged, thinking how silly he was being for giving importance to such little thing. He watched as Haley waved and said goodbye to everyone before opening the door and stopped, looking at him.

"Come on." She quietly said, leaving him shocked and happy all at the same time. He had been convinced the entire time that he would have to ask Lucas for a ride home, but seeing his wife offering him to come with her was just surprising and amazing. I mean, not exactly surprising, because he knew who Haley was and knew way too well the size of her heart. He suddenly looked like a little dog, nodding his head... and he could swear he was about to let his tongue hang out of his mouth. He quickly said goodbye to everyone and took everyone's congratulations once again, before he walked to the car with his wife and his son.

* * *

"Thank you. You didn't need to do that." Nathan confessed, looking once again at her eyes focused on the road.

"It's alright. Actually, I was thinking… if you wanted to go to the apartment. Jamie misses you." _And so do I. _Haley knew Jamie had to spend time with his father, it was only good for his health so she invited him over. Maybe they could talk a little more and he could fool around a little with Jamie.

And, just like that, Nathan's mouth was broad open again. He could only be dreaming, because this was certainly his lucky day. Everything was turning out perfect…

"Yeah! Daddy, you and I can play _Wii_!" Jamie shrieked in the backseat, only happy to hear his daddy was coming home with them.

"Sure!" Nathan almost yelled of happiness, answering both Jamie and Haley's questions. Haley turned to look at him and gave him a shy smile. It was good to be like this.

* * *

"This is not fair! I don't play this in a long time. I'm rusty…"

"No, daddy. It's not your fault. I'm just too good for you…" as soon as Jamie had said that, Nathan looked at him with an amused expression on his face. Haley who was reading a magazine on the couch, next to them, also lifted her head from the item and after a few seconds, she busted out laughing. Like father, like son… Jamie had just looked like a mini-Nathan saying those teasing words, just like his father would do whenever he got the chance. Nathan thought exactly the same and suddenly he started tickling Jamie.

"Oh you're too good for me, huh?" he said, continuing tickling his son's stomach, making him squeal and twist in his arms."Let's see just how good you are!"

"Ahh! No tickle! Momma, help me!" Haley quickly put the magazine aside and tried to push Nathan out of Jamie, joining their laughter in between. Somehow Nathan managed to push Jamie and Haley under him and started tickling both of them, having them both shrieking in laughter.

"I'll only stop when you both say 'Nathan, my lord, you are the best.'" He said with a smirk plastered on his face, not stopping his assault on them. Haley and Jamie looked at each other but decided to resist but when Nathan increased the tickles, they surrendered.

"Nathan, my lord, you are the best." Haley and Jamie said at the same and Nathan raised his arms to celebrate his victory. It was only then that he noticed how Haley's body was completely under his, like it had been so many times in the past… He stopped celebrating as he looked intently at her. She was smiling and fooling around with their son. It was like everything else around him didn't matter and every single movement Haley made he'd see it in slow motion.

"Daddy, why don't you have dinner with us?" Jamie's question interrupted his thoughts about Haley that were making him feel a little too hot. He noticed Haley looking at him and when a smile appeared on her lips, as if saying to him it was okay, he nodded at his son.

"Of course I will." He calmly stated, locking eyes with Haley. Her eyes had now a familiar shade of black to them and he wondered if the same thoughts had gone through her mind.

"I'd better go and make dinner then." Haley said, quickly getting of the couch and under Nathan.

"Can we order pizza, momma? It's pizza day, remember?" yeah… It was pizza Friday. She'd forgotten about that…

"Okay, we'll order pizza." She said, giving in to her son's pleading look. Maybe it was also because she couldn't stop thinking about everything that had gone through her mind just a little while ago. She didn't know why, but seeing Nathan on top of her like that had made her feel and think about certain things she shouldn't be thinking right now… And she could swear the same thing had gone through his mind judging by the way he was looking at her. That look she knew so well. The same look we would always do to make her know he wanted to make love to her. But Haley was happy he was staying for dinner. It had felt right after the three of them had shared their first real family moment in months. She didn't want to ruin that. Plus, she still wanted to tell him about working again at Karen's.

The pizza arrived not much later and the three of them had started eating. As a family. Nathan and Haley would share looks and he and Jamie would make fun of Haley when she didn't notice the bit of tomato on the corner of her mouth, the situation ending with the three of them laughing like crazy.

After dinner, they went to watch Jamie's favourite cartoons but it wasn't long until the little boy fell asleep on his father's arms.

"I better get going. He's already out like a stone." Nathan whispered to Haley, gently getting up from the couch, trying not to wake Jamie up and placing him carefully on the cushions.

"I'll take you there. I'll put Jamie in the backseat."

"Don't. The boy's already sleeping, he would wake up. I'll walk home."

"Absolutely not! Nathan, you have to be careful, you only stopped wearing crutches today… Why don't you take the car? It's yours too." She offered, placing the keys on his hand. "You're okay to drive, right?"

"Yeah. I could drive with crutches so I must be able to drive without them too." He said goofily. "Thank you. I'll bring it back to you first thing in the morning."

"Okay." She replied, putting a trail of hair behind her ear. "Can we go outside? I have something I have to tell you." She whispered. Nathan nodded and couldn't help wondering if everything was okay as he started following her to the balcony. _That_ balcony… He had so many good memories there… When they'd made love in the rain, watched the meteor shower together, when she told him her life wouldn't have been the same without him when she came back from the tour… It wasn't very cold outside and the sky framed the full moon in a perfect way. He watched as Haley rested her arms on the railing, looking at the sky. She would always do that… He joined her and positioned himself exactly like her.

"I got a part-time job." She blurted out as she faced him. "I'm working at Karen's Café again as a waitress." He was surprised. He had no idea she had gotten another job… Now what Karen had told him made sense…

"Okay." He calmly said.

"It's just to help and pay the bills." Of course it would because of that. Because his ass had been thrown out of a window and now he couldn't even work and be paid a salary to sustain his family. His face fell and Haley guessed what he had been thinking. "Don't do it. This isn't your fault, Nathan. And we still have money. I just want to prevent us for whatever the future brings."

"But if I hadn't-"

"Yeah and if I hadn't leave you, we'd be better."

"Haley…"

"Nathan." She grabbed his face in her hands and looked intently at him, the moon lightning up his face in a way that she just wanted to throw herself on his arms. "We both made mistakes. We're both guilty for what's happening to us. But it's not going to take us anywhere if we keep fighting about who has more fault. We're in this together. We're a team and I think it would be better for us to just admit we're both equally guilty in this and make peace with that. Don't you agree with me?"

"I do."

"Good. So you admit we're both guilty?" Nathan nodded. "I'm sorry for leaving you."

"I'm sorry to treat you like I did." Haley smiled and rested her head against his, looking him in the eyes after spending some seconds with her eyes closed. "What do we do now?" Nathan asked as she placed her right hand over his heart, noticing its hard beating.

"Now we heal together."

**AN2: First of all, let me clarify that I'm not a doctor and I don't understand a thing about medical procedures or anything. I always try to write my stories as realistic as possible but considering I'm not an expert on the area, forgive me for any inaccurate thing related to medicine. Also about "Ebony Howl", Blazer's president, it's a fictional character. I did my research and I know who Blazer's real president is, but I didn't want to take a real person into my story when being responsible for such a terrible thing. That's why this name and this character is fictional, just to make it clear. Tell me what you think and expect an update a lot sooner than this one. Thank you and be happy! Rita :)**


	10. Today, The Headache's On Me

**AN 2: Here's the next chapter, like promised! Thank you all for your kind words. I'll reply to all of you when I have the time for it, but never forget I'm extremely appreciated for the support! THANK YOU.**

**

* * *

**It was little after 8 am when Nathan parked the car at the familiar highway. He felt great. Things with Haley finally seemed to be getting back on track, slowly but surely. He was feeling better after his physical therapy sessions and he could finally walk normally without having those suckers of crutches with him the entire time. He carefully crawled up the stairs and a smile crept on his face when he heard Haley yelling his son's name from behind the door. Jamie was probably late and he could already picture his wife all nervous preparing the breakfast and furious with the little boy. Not furious, furious. Just that type of fury that every mom has when their children are late to school or don't want to get out of bed. Haley had always been one of those mothers. And he loved it. Never ceasing his smile, he knocked twice on the wood. He had gotten up earlier just to see them. He knew it was Monday and a long day of work was expecting both Haley and Jamie so he had made everything possible to still catch them at home and wish them a good week and day. When Haley opened the door, her annoyed expression soon faded to a smile on her face as she took in the sight of him. God, he was looking good… He was wearing jeans and a green shirt. Green had never been a color Nathan used very much, but when he did… let's just say she felt her cheeks redden making her look like a tomato. The smell of his cologne was soon capted by her nose and she noticed it was the one she had offered him last Christmas.

"You look beautiful." Nathan said honestly while glancing intently at her figure. She knew he was checking her out and unlike the last few times something like this happened, she felt good. Confident, actually. Proud. Happy. She let out an almost inaudible "thank you" before inviting him to get in. "Sorry. Good morning."

"Good morning. Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I am. I slept like a baby…"

"Oh, please. We both know that never happens…" said Haley between laughs. Nathan had never been a pacific sleeper. He would always toss around like a tornado…

"Yeah, I guess you're right… But I'm fine. No major pain in my back so I guess that's a good sign… Oh, here's the key, before I forget. Thanks."

"You know you have nothing to thank for. It's your car too." She said throwing him one of the warmest smiles he had ever seen. Nathan smiled back and when he heard those little footsteps he knew so well his smile got even broader.

"Daddy!" Jamie ran from his bedroom to his father's arms.

"Morning, buddy! How are you?" while Jamie and Nathan continued their chit-chat, Haley continued preparing breakfast. "Do you need any help?" asked Nathan at the same time he told Jamie to go and sit down on the balcony so he could start to eat.

"Nah, it's okay. Thanks." Haley said placing a plate with two pancakes, meshed eggs and a slice of bacon in front of Jamie. Nathan looked at the meal. Haley had always been a goddess in the kitchen. She could seriously make a divine meal from onions and carrots, it was unbelievable. And he knew how awesome that food was, which didn't help when he felt like he could eat her entire kitchen… "Do you want some?"

"As much as I know how delicious this is, I'll have to pass. I can't eat anything before going to the pool…"

"It stops digestion." Said Nathan and Jamie, both at the same time. Nathan looked at his son with a smirk plastered on his face.

"That's what mom's always saying. That I shouldn't eat before I go to the pool because the cool water can stop my digestion…" Haley threw him a goofy expression.

"That's right and you'd better not forget it, mister!"

"You're always telling me, how could I ever forget it?" Nathan busted out laughing with his son's reply and after a few seconds, Haley couldn't help but join in the laughter. Yeah, maybe she was a mother hen! So what?"

"You're just full of funny today, aren't you?" she asked while grabbing his son's cheeks with her right hand.

"He got you, Hales…" _Hales._ That was the first time he was calling her that without her feeling it was too soon… She smiled at him before looking at the clock and hurrying Jamie up. "What if I drive you both to school? My therapy session only starts at 9 so I have enough time…"

"Sure." She didn't let the enthusiasm show in her tone of voice, but she was squealing inside. Just this little moment had looked exactly like the millions of breakfasts the three of them had took in the past. And Nathan driving them to school would be one more familiar thing.

A few minutes later, Jamie was done and they all drove to Tree Hill High.

"Call me if you need anything, okay?" Haley let him know after getting herself out of the car.

"I will. Thanks. And good luck with your classes."

"Okay. Thank you. Good luck!" Haley said as Jamie waved her goodbye.

"So Jim Jam, what are you going to do today in class?"

* * *

"Good morning, Mrs. Scott."Already inside the teacher's lounge, Haley turned her head left and saw Principal Turner coming in her direction. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure." She replied, a little intrigued with what he could possibly have to tell her.

"I just want to know how your situation with Quentin Fields is." Oh… _that_… "Is he still perturbing your classes?"

"He is." Quentin Fields was a really difficult kid. He only seemed to care about basketball and he even sexually harassed Haley in her first class. In other words, he was a jerk… Haley had to admit she felt a little embarrassed in admitting that to Principal Turner but the truth is that with everything happening in her life at the moment, Quentin was the least of her preoccupations. He had stopped with the sexual harassing but he still was a pain in the ass in her classes. "But I can handle it, don't worry. I know I may not have started in the best way but I know this kid is going to come around eventually."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I know his type." Was the only thing she said. And that was the truth. Quentin reminded her of Nathan's old self in some ways: cocky, arrogant, amazing basketball player and only caring about the game… maybe she was being ingenuous but something was telling her she could help Quentin and perhaps change the way he behaved.

"I suggest we see how he behaves this week and if he doesn't show any improvement, then I'm afraid we'll have to take even more serious measures… Keep me informed." And after smiling at her, he walked away letting Lucas approach his best friend.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was about Quentin…"

"Did he do anything again?" Lucas asked, rage filling his voice. He had been on the edge when Haley first told him the guy had sexually harassed her. No matter how hard Lucas was making his life, the kid still managed to stay the same…

"No, he stopped, thank God."

"Good. I told him that if he kept harassing you, I'd kick him out of the team. What is he up to now?"

"He's just not interested in hearing me or any other teacher for that matter…"

"He's a really stubborn kid. We have to be patient… But he'll come around... So is it today we're going to tell Nathan?" Haley suddenly looked awestruck. She had been avoiding this ever since Lucas told her everything about Bowl's mischievous plan to injure Nathan. She knew her husband and he wouldn't take it well…

"Yeah… The sooner we tell him, the better."

* * *

"I know I'm an old man, but I can still grab him by the arm, thank you." Mrs. Hockley looked with at Whitey with a stupid look on her face, although some could argue that was the only expression that woman had…

"Thanks, coach. That woman really gets on my nerves…" said Nathan as both men walked into the locker room of the building. Usually, it would always be Mrs. Hockley taking him there but Whitey noticed how unpleasant the woman was and quickly ditched her. Putting his bag over the bench, Nathan started taking out his swimming shorts from it when he heard his phone ringing. It was a text… from Haley. A smile quickly formed on his lips, even before reading it.

_Good luck! I know you can do it. XX Haley_

"What? You won the lottery?" Nathan snapped away from the screen and looked weirdly at Whitey. "Or is it that wife of yours you're crazy about?" he asked with a smirk on his face. He knew Nathan for a long time and clearly that was the _thinking about Haley _look.

"She's wishing me luck." Nathan replied still amused. How a simple text from her had such an effect on him…

"I remember feeling like that too…" Nathan noticed Whitey looking into the air. Camila. "But of course it was with letters back then." He chuckled at his own silliness. Nathan had always admired how much Camila and Whitey had loved each other. He had never met the woman who had won his coach's heart but from all the things Whitey had told him, he couldn't help but loving the relationship they had. He could tell that Whitey loved her unconditionally and a part of Nathan wished he and Haley would be like them one day. Just grow old together and watching their grandchildren grow up… "How are things going between you two?"

"Good. I think we're finally back on track." Nathan's smile to ear to ear let Whitey know the couple he'd always rooted for was going to be just fine and that left him happy. "Actually, I…" Nathan didn't know if he should say this to Whitey first than Haley, but he really needed an opinion about this before telling her. "I'm going to look for a new job today." He had been thinking about the idea for a long time but after Haley telling him she was working at Karen's, he got even more motivated to find something to do. They still had money from the shoe contract but it wouldn't last forever and they had to be precautious. Plus it also wasn't fair for Haley to be the livelihood of the family. They **both** needed to make an effort. Whitey just smiled, thinking how much the man in front of him had come a long way.

* * *

Haley didn't have any classes that afternoon so she and Lucas were quickly driving to her apartment when she called Nathan.

"_Hey!"_

"Hey! So, how did it go?"

"_Great. Dr. Campbell says everything's normal and that I'm on the track."_

"Oh…" she sighed in relief. "I knew it, I'm so happy for you, Nathan. Really, I am."

_"__I know, Hales. Thank you. Oh and n__ext week I won't be having any sessions because it's Easter."_

"Is that okay?"

_"Yeah, Dr. Campbell said it wouldn't cause me any trouble."_

"I'm more relieved then." then there was an awkward silence in the air until Haley decided to speak again. "So listen, Lucas and I need to talk to you. Do you think you can go to the apartment right now?"

"_What happened?" _he asked worried.

"Don't worry. Everything's okay. We just want to talk to you about something…"

"_Sure. I'll be there in 5 minutes."_ Haley shut the phone and breathed in. This was going to be hard. How do you tell the person you love that their dreams were purposely taken away from them?

* * *

"Did you call him?" Lucas asked as soon as she parked on the driveway and they started climbing up the stairs, before opening the front door.

"Yeah. He'll be here in-" and just before she could finish the sentence, a knock on the door was heard.

"Hey." Nathan had that look Haley knew so well on his face: apprehensiveness. They both greeted them before sitting him on one of the balcony's chairs. "So…?" what could possibly his wife and brother have to tell him? He couldn't think of anything besides his accident or something about it. If it was something about Jamie, Haley had already told him, for sure…

"What we have to tell you is shocking, but please try to stay calm, okay?" Haley prepared him, holding his hand and looking compassionately at him. Okay, now he was really worried. He looked at his brother and he was also looking pitifully at him. Okay, now he was even more worried. "We know you don't like to talk about it or remember about that night…" He was right, it was about his accident and he softly rolled his eyes. What else was going to make him think about it? "… but you do remember what happened, right?"

"Yes, I remember clearly what happened! Some guy was getting a rise out at me and I hugged him. Oh, this of course after we ate ice cream together and talked about how to polish nails…" he mumbled sarcastically. He wasn't liking where this was heading off. Haley looked at him and she suddenly realized this was going to be even more complicated than she had previously thought. "I'm sorry." He apologized after realizing he was letting his natural temper get the best of him.

"Look, man, we know this is hard for you but we really need to know what you remember from that night…" Lucas tried to tell him.

"I remember being thrown out of a window!"

"Okay, it's okay." Haley muffled his hair with her hand caressing his scalp, trying to soothe him and Nathan certainly started to notice how much her touch relaxed him.

"I remember it all. I remember the guy saying he was going to sue me…"

"So you do remember the guys?" Lucas asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Why?" Lucas and Haley looked at each other and Haley nodded at Lucas, letting him know he should do the talk while she would try to relax her husband taking it all in. Lucas started telling him everything, how Jet Streamer and the rest of the guys had been hired by Howl, the Blazer's president and how his accident had been a trap to injure him.

Haley kept rubbing Nathan's back and his scalp as his eyes widened at Lucas's words. He… He just couldn't believe it. So he was like this because of some moron? His jam clenched as did his fists and he just wanted to hit someone! He missed the times where he would just punch some nerd to let out his anger… It had been unbelievably wrong and he was never going to do that again in his entire life, but sometimes he missed letting out all his rage like that…

"Nate? You're okay?" Lucas and Haley looked at him who was still unable to form any words.

"So my accident… wasn't an accident." He finally said. "I can't believe someone could do this to me…" he was angry. Damn, he was pissed! But somehow, on some level, he didn't feel all that much surprised. He knew the world he lived in. He knew all the schemes the NBA teams ran behind doors… He knew it all and this wasn't actually so surprising.

"But think about this: now you know you're not responsible for losing basketball." Lucas told him with a warm smile.

"Yes, I am." Lucas and Haley looked at him with a delicate look on their faces. "Howl hired the guys to piss me off but if I hadn't fallen into their trap, I'd still be out there playing. I know it was all a scheme but that doesn't take away the fact that I acted wrong. I should have just walked away but I didn't. So yeah, maybe Howl set the bait but I ate it." Haley's delicate look soon turned into a loving one. That was the man she loved… The one who would always be in the first row taking responsibility for his own mistakes. "I'm still guilty for what happened."

"But what they did is a crime, Nathan. We have to do something."

"It was a crime, Haley and I really want to catch these bastards! I just… It doesn't make me feel less guilty knowing this was all a set up…" to which she just nodded. "How do we even know Streamer's telling the truth?"

"His hearing will be in two weeks so I guess we won't have to wait much longer… He told me he's going to say everything to the judge. He wants revenge. So, if we're lucky enough, they'll then call Howl and the rest of them on court.

"Okay. Thank you for telling me and for going there. You didn't need to do that."

"Of course I had. I want justice to be made."

"How are you feeling?" Haley asked him concerned. She'd been expecting a more stormy reaction of him.

"I feel like I could strangle someone right now for knowing there are such sick people out there to do something like this but, like I said, it doesn't change how I've always looked at that night: a guy who had a moment of weakness and lost it all. But at the same time, it gives me strength, you know? Like I want to show those guys there's nothing they can do to stop me!" Haley smiled broadly, it was amazing seeing Nathan being confident again, even if it was just for mere seconds.

"And you will." She whispered softly to which he just replied with a shy smile.

"Okay, I got to go now. I have to go meet with Peyton and Brooke. I'll see you guys later… and Nathan… everything's going to be alright." Lucas assured him before leaving the apartment.

"Are you really okay?" Haley asked him as she stood up in front of him.

"I am. Incredible… All this time I thought they were just a bunch of punks…"

"Nathan…" she hesitated, she wasn't sure if that was crossing her limits but she had to know. She'd been dying to know what had truly happened that night, what made him lose his head like that… "I know this is a really hard topic for you, but… what happened? Why did you start fighting them?" Nathan looked down. He had never told her the real reason why he hadn't been able to control himself… Should he tell her the truth?

"What did Lucas tell you?"

"He told me you two left the bar and went to the car and everything was fine. But after going to call Barry, you were… you were already on the floor. What happened?" she asked, grabbing his face with both her hands. "Please tell me, Nathan. Let me in." the last part was almost a whisper and he looked deeply into her eyes. He didn't want to upset her. He didn't want her to feel bad for being the reason why he fought them, because he knew she was going to feel bad… Guilty even. "Let me in." she repeated and he realized they had to work on their issues and lack of communication had always been one of them, especially after what happened during those 4 months… He looked intently at her one last time before telling her everything.

"While Lucas went to call Barry, I heard Greg saying he was going to sue me so I walked back in on the bar to try and solve things when…"

"What?" she asked expectantly.

"He talked shit about you, Haley. And I couldn't control myself! No one speaks shit about my wife, no one! I'm not going to sit and watch while the world hurts you! I told you this once and it's still true. It always will be." Haley was shocked to say the least. So she had been the reason why her husband had been thrown out of a window? "Don't do that. You're not guilty for anything." Somehow, she didn't believe it. Her husband had been defending her honor and because of that he… "Hales, listen to me. It all makes sense now. Those guys had been hired to get a rise out of me. They knew it hadn't worked with the autograph thing so as professionals they are, they said those things about you. Because they knew it was certain I was going to react to that."

"That's not the point, Nathan. I'm really glad you're that kind of men, the kind of protecting his family from everything, but you have to know you're not invincible… There have been and there always will be a lot of people talking shit about me and everyone else and you can't just start punching everyone-"

"I know I was wrong! But he insulted you! I know I shouldn't have started fighting him but I will never just stand there looking at anyone who insults you, Haley! I can't do that! If I need to turn into a beast to protect you or Jamie, I will!" Haley just closed her eyes, taking in his words. She loved him for being like that, for being so protective of her and their son but he couldn't always act like that whenever people bad-mouthed her or Jamie. She reluctantly closed the gap between them and hugged him tightly to her. She missed him, feeling him. She was finding it harder and harder to take things slowly. Her body wanted him and so did her mind. The problem was that her mind was a little behind her body and she needed time to catch up.

"But you have to be careful, Nathan. I don't want to lose you for something stupid. What other people say about me doesn't matter. There are people out there that just don't care about anything but themselves and they'll always be ready to tear others down... What matters is what the people I love think about me." Nathan cupped her cheeks with his hands and started caressing them with his thumbs. She was right. "Look at what happened to you…" she mumbled feeling her eyes starting to tear a little. "They're not worthy of this or anything that can possibly happen to you, Nathan. And sometimes walking away is the best thing to do." Nathan smiled shyly at her before looking down. He had always known he'd been wrong in getting all riled up but he also knew he would never let anyone speak badly about his family. That was a certainty. Walking away had never been an easy thing for him to do. He beat up kids since he was 9…

"Then what do you want me to do? Do you want me to just watch while someone hits on you or insults you?" he questioned her waiting for an answer.

"The best thing you can do is to get me out of the situation as soon as possible and tell me how much you love me, hold me when I need it. I don't want you to punch anyone because I know who I love and whatever the rest of the world says or do doesn't matter." His heart beat faster with her words and he felt a sudden need to be close to her. "I'm not a lady in distress, Nathan. But that doesn't mean I don't love you for being like this, so protective of our family… Because I do."

"I'm sorry." He mumbled into her hair when he pulled her to him, embracing her in a hug. Haley let the tears fall down her face. God, lately she looked like a damn river. Whenever she and Nathan talked about serious issues, she'd always cry like a baby. But she knew she needed those tears. Some were from happiness though… she was radiant that their relationship seemed to be evolving extremely well and they were being honest and open with each other. She hadn't told him about what happened with Quentin Fields yet. She hoped he would ask her how things were going in school so she could tell him. Maybe that would be a little selfish considering how he had so much on his plate right now. Of course her career wouldn't be often on his mind. But she still hoped to see him ask her about how she was doing on her new job. He had never asked her how her first day as a teacher had been, if she had liked it, if she had hated it… But she was hoping that would happen soon. In the last couple of weeks, actually, she had been thinking a lot about them. How they were going to sort everything out, how they could do something that was the best for them and Jamie at the same time… And no matter how many times she kept asking different questions, the answer ended up being always the same.

"I just want you to promise me you'll be more careful." She whispered on his ear at the same time she muffled her hand through his thick short dark hair. "I don't know what I would do without you." She let out a few more tears saying those words. She knew it was true. She couldn't live without Nathan. That was something she'd figured very soon in their relationship. She felt him nod her hair into her shoulder.

"I promise." He finally said, getting out of her embrace but still grabbing her face with his hands. Her skin was so soft… His fingers would always slide down her face like butter. She was so beautiful… And those teary eyes of hers always managed to break his heart. He then noticed her closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

She didn't know if now was the best time to say this, but she had to say it. She wanted it. "Nathan…" her voice came out in a lot more insecure tone than she'd wanted but she needed to tell him. She was ready for it. What she was about to say to him was the answer she'd always get… Her heart started pounding hard on her chest, afraid of his reaction. "I want us to live together again." Nathan's eyes popped out of his head. Did he just hear that? Did Haley really want to move in with him again? He looked shocked at her for a few minutes which only freaked Haley out. What if it was too soon?

"A- Are you sure?" he then asked, getting even closer to her. She quickly nodded and smiled timidly at him.

"I want to be your wife again, Nathan. I want us to work on our marriage full time." He slowly closed his eyes taking in what she'd said and finally smiled. He didn't even know how to describe what he was feeling. After months of trying to get Haley and his family back, he'd finally made it. Of course they still had a lot to fix, but at least he knew Haley and Jamie weren't going anywhere. He pulled her for another tight hug and he could feel his own tears starting to form at the corner of his eyes. He never cried much in his life; he wasn't a crying baby, never had been and never would be. And the only times he'd cried in his adult life had been because of Haley and Jamie. And he knew that was never going to change.

"I miss you so much, baby." He told her resting his forehead against hers, feeling her hot and heavy breathing on his face.

"I miss you too." Her voice was so sweet and her eyes were sparkling in such a way that he just couldn't control himself. He started moving his face closer and closer to hers, never leaving the sight of her red and plump lips. He missed her kisses, her touches, her caresses, her little moans and whimpers. He missed it all. He looked into her eyes and saw she wanted it too which only encouraged him to move more quickly. Their hearts were about to collapse. They could already feel each other's lips… when some melody interrupted them. They quickly pulled apart and Haley realized it was her phone. _What was just about to happen? _"I'm sorry." She went over to her purse and started looking nervously for her phone. Her entire body was still trembling with had almost happened. She'd felt completely lost in him. She finally found it and looked at the screen. Brooke… _Figures. _Their friends would always have the best timing…

"Hey Brooke." As soon as Nathan heard his wife talking to Brooke, he rolled his eyes in annoyance. That girl had a fringing timing… What did she want? And why did she have to call _now_? _In this right moment_? He'd wanted this for so long and now when it finally was going to happen, Brooke Freaking Davis called. He had to smack her when he saw her again. Their friends seemed to be a bunch of cock-blocks. They always had the best timing…

"_Haley, you and Nathan have to get your asses in the café right now!"_

"Why? What happened?"

"_Just stop asking questions and get down here!"_

"But-"

"_NOW, Haley!"_and she hung up.

"What happened?" Nathan asked her, still a little annoyed.

"Brooke wants us to go to the café right now." She informed him as she quickly picked up the keys and started walking towards the door. "We'll have to talk better about this." She paused and he just nodded. "Let's go? She was strange, I don't know if something's wrong…"

"It's Brooke. She probably saw some hot dude and now she wants to tell you the story." Haley swatted him lightly on the shoulder as they got out of the apartment.

"Don't be mean." He felt her grabbing her hand and interlacing their fingers as they climbed down the stairs to the car. He looked up at her and just smiled at her.

"Thank you." He pulled their hands up to his mouth and dropped a soft kiss on her hand. He was thanking her for everything she'd done for him and mostly for wanting them to live together again. Now he couldn't wait to tell Jamie.

* * *

Five minutes later, they were at Karen's where they found Lucas, Peyton, Brooke, Karen, Mouth, Skills, Junk and Fergie all sit through the various tables. They looked intrigued at each other. Why was everyone there? When she saw them entering the café, Brooke jumped hysterically and Nathan couldn't help but roll his eyes. Yes, he was still pissed and annoyed at her for having interrupted him and Haley in such an important moment…

"Thank God you're here!" Brooke hugged Haley and patted Nathan on the shoulder. "How are you?"

"We were better before you called." He stated dryly and Haley elbowed him. "Sorry, I'm a little tired."

"Don't worry. What I'm going to say is going to leave you feeling a whole lot better!" she then hurried up to the counter where she cleared her throat. "Hi everyone! As you all know, I'm back to Tree Hill, but unfortunately it's only for a few months. As you all know Peyton and Lucas are going to get married in the next month and since I don't want my comeback to be overshadowed by their marriage, I had a fabulous idea to spend some time with my friends… So you can all start packing up because we're going camping for an entire week!" Brooke's shrieks were the only noise filling up the space as everyone was looking serious at her, a perfect "huh" plastered on their faces.

"Brooke, Easter's next week." Haley finally told her.

"So? We will all spend Easter together… on the woods! We're all free because it's Easter break and I think it might be good for all of us to spend some time together, have fun. I miss you." Haley, as everyone else in the café didn't know what to say. This was all so unexpected. What would this mean for her, Nathan and Jamie?

_This is perfect_, Nathan thought. He could finally spend some time with his family before they started living together again… He was definitely in and suddenly he didn't find Brooke that annoying… But he was sure that wouldn't last for long.

"I think it's a great idea." Nathan blurted out and Haley looked quickly at him.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Haley, these last few months have been intense. I think we could all use some distraction and have fun. Think about Jamie, I'm sure he'll love this." Nathan had a point. She could certainly use some distraction and just enjoy her Easter break and give some funny times to their son.

"And where would we be going, exactly?" Lucas popped up the question.

"That's a surprise…" Brooke smiled mischievously.

"I'm in." Mouth, Skills, Junk and Fergie quickly said. Peyton quickly got up from her sit and walked towards Brooke grabbing her arm.

"Is this what you had in mind the other day?" she whispered on her best friend's ear.

"What? To help Nathan and Haley get back together? Of course. Isn't that obvious? And at the same time we'll all enjoy ourselves and have fun together. Am I a genius or what?"

"You are definitely something, Brooke Davis. But just so you know, those two don't need anyone's help. But I'm in." she winked at her and came back to the table where she was previously sit with Lucas.

"Do you want to go, Hales?" everyone had already said 'yes' and they were the only ones left. Haley wasn't sure of this. She loved Brooke but sometimes her friend came up with some wacky things and plans and this just seemed so high-schoolish... "Come on, Haley. I'm sure it'll be fun." Nathan insisted, he really wanted her to say 'yes', he knew he was going to be great for the three of them.

"Shouldn't we use this break to discuss more important things, like us living together again?" she asked him.

"Haley, after we come back, we still have one more week to sort everything out. We're just going camping with our friends, with our son, our family. Come on, let's do something all together again." Nathan pleaded and Haley knew way too well his "all" was just her, him and Jamie. She thought about it for a few more seconds and she finally gave in; she still thought they should talk about more important things before they went on camping. But they could always discuss those big issues there but, most importantly, they'd be having an entire week all for their little family. How could that be bad for them?

"Fine, we'll go."

"Yes! Okay, so we all meet up here, Saturday at 9:00 am. Okay? This will certainly be fun."

**AN: I know the story is going really slow, until now at least. This is how I always planned for it to be happening and I want to delay Nathan and Haley's "first" kiss and their get together. However, I can say that this camping will be important for the three of them (NHJ) and will set NH's relationship to another level. We already know they're going to live together again but from now on things will heat up, I promise. I just wanted to say that unfortunately my college work isn't giving me much time to write so I really think I can only update once per month**** like I'm doing now. When and if I have the chance to update sooner, I will do it. And again, I repeat, if you'd like to see something happen in this story, leave me any suggestions. I will read them and consider them for sure. Thank you all and R&R, please =)**


	11. Victims Of Love

**Sorry for the delay... again. My first year in college has been somewhat hard to deal with and really stressful and I really haven't had time to work on fanfiction. But there are some good news, I'm officially free for the Summer and I'll finish this story very soon. Now that I have time, expect weekly updates. There are about more 4/5 chapters left. Thank you for all the reviews.**

"So you're really excited about the camping, huh Jamie?" Nathan asked his son as he chewed a fry in his mouth. After Brooke's surprising announcement, Nathan and Haley went to pick up Jamie from kindergarten and the three of them had then decided to go have dinner at the nearest _McDonald's_.

Haley wasn't a fan of fast food, never had been. She had always believed good, healthy food was a lot better than all that junk but as any kid, Jamie loved _McDonald's_. Haley knew he had gotten that from his father. Nathan had always been a huge fan of _McDonald's_, _KFC_, _Burger King_ and probably every other brand who sold fast food… And once in a while, she didn't mind eating it. But just once in a while, of course. Plus, it was yet another chance for them to spend more time together as a family and she loved it. Every single moment of it. A smile crept on her lips as she realized they were going to be just fine. All of them. She had known that from the moment she had seen Nathan at her doorstep apologizing for what he had done. And she was even surer after earlier today when she finally worked up the courage to ask him to move in with her and Jamie again. Now that she thought about it, she had been so impulsive… Now her apartment, their old apartment would have absolutely no use. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she couldn't have done anything else. Staying at Lucas's wouldn't have been an option because, at that time, she had no idea if Nathan was ever going to change. But now… Maybe she could sell the apartment again and gain some money with it. It sure came in handy with their current situation… But she knew that would be something she'd have to talk with Nathan. Her way of thinking made her smile yet again.

"I am! Will we be swimming on a lake!"

"I don't know that, buddy. It depends on where we're going and aunt Brooke still hasn't told us. But why, would you like to swim on a lake?" Nathan questioned him curious and quirking his eyebrows at Haley trying to know if it was some inside story between them or something.

"Katie Brown is always saying that swimming on a lake is better than swimming on a pool…" Jamie answered while giving a bite on his chicken McNugget.

"It depends. If it's the lake Ness, I assure you it isn't…" Nathan blurted out with a playful expression on his face making Haley laugh.

"How come?"

" The water is just really cold…" lied Nathan, not wanting to scare his son with fake stories. Haley gave him a look he knew way too well and he replied with a shy smile.

"Oh and will we be going on a treasure hunt!" Nathan and Haley laughed at Jamie's excitement. When they had told him about the camping, he had just been thrilled with the idea and now, about 2 hours later, he was still going on and on about what they would be doing on the camping.

"I don't know. But we can suggest that to Brooke!" Haley told him.

"Chester is going to love it!"

"Oh sweetie, I'm afraid Chester won't be able to go with us."

"Why not?"

"He's a little rabbit. He could run away while we're in the middle of the woods. You wouldn't like that, would you?" Just like it would happen every time Jamie pouted a little, Haley's heart broke for him. "I promise we'll bring some cool gift for him, though. Okay?" she tried to cheer him up and caressed his soft little cheek. Nathan watched the scene intently and he felt the urge to grab Haley and kiss her everywhere. Right there, right now.

She was just pure perfection and to actually see her in the role of worried and concerned mama was definitely a turn on to him. It always had been. She was one hot mama. And he was suddenly taken back to earlier when he was _this_ close to kiss her, taste her lips again after what had felt like eternities when Brooke Freaking Davis had ruined everything. But Haley had wanted to kiss him, he knew it. He knew it by all the signs her and her body had sent him. Signs that he was now instantly able to decipher. He couldn't wait for them to get home and put Jamie to sleep so that he could talk to her and eventually kiss her. He was desperate to do it. He had wanted to kiss her for so long and now that he knew she was ready for it and wanted it to happen, he wouldn't miss a chance.

He then caught her deep brown eyes staring at him and by the look she was giving him, he realized he must have been smirking hence her looking at him like _that_. "Everything okay?" she asked him and he could swear he heard a teasing tone in her voice.

"I was thinking about you." He then smirked when he saw the blush appearing on her cheeks. That blush of hers killed him… What was the point in making up something? He told her the truth, he had been thinking about her and how he wanted to kiss her, badly. Haley looked down at her French fries before looking once again at him. His answer had made her heart pound in dangerous ways.

* * *

"It's such a calm night." Haley broke the silence as she reached the balcony, handing Nathan a glass of wine. It had reminded her of the last time they had been there, discussing their life and what they would do next. The sky looked just the same with the stars and the full moon lightning them up. Jamie was already asleep and Nathan had walked out to the balcony soon after.

"I know." He paused for a second to look at her. "Do you remember when we watched the meteor shower together?" Haley looked at his blue eyes and smiled at him. Did he really think she could forget such moment?

"I do. We were so young…"

"… and just married…"

"Oh stop it, we look like two grannies." They both laughed at Haley's remark and then silence took place once again. "I'll never forget that night." Nathan looked up once again and looked deeply into her eyes. God, how he wanted her right now… He smiled and laughed at her, placing his hand gently on her head and pulling her to him so that he could hug her tightly.

"I remember how I thought that night that I wouldn't need anything else as long as I had you… And I was so right." He whispered on her ear, holding her with everything he had. "You're my everything, Haley. You and Jamie." They just laid there, embraced in each other's arms, until Nathan worked up the courage to tell her how much he wanted to help their family, to try and make things better. He chuckled thinking that had been the exact same place where Haley had told him she had found a job. Due to everything that happened between them, they didn't get to spend a lot of time together and when they did, it was usually in the same places. Either on their house or this apartment, this balcony…

"What?" Haley asked unsure of his out of nowhere chuckle.

"A few days ago you told me in this same balcony you were working on Karen's Café to help us… I've been thinking about it and… I want to find something to do too. I feel like I have to, Haley. I know I can't be a basketball player anymore but I'm sure there's something I can do, right? Something simple, until we find some stability." He watched Haley smile at him and she just hugged him back. He supposed she was happy for him and agreed with his decision...

"I just want you to be okay and not to force your back."

"I'm going to be okay, I promise."

"Nathan, I'm really proud of you for deciding that but we're still good with money. We're not desperate, far from that… I don't know… I just think you should focus on getting better…"

"Haley, I feel like I can do so much more… I don't need crutches anymore and I would be doing something that wouldn't put my back at risk."

"But you don't need to do something risky to have a break down, Nathan. I think you should take it easy for now. Just rest." Although she loved him for wanting to get a job and do something, Haley wasn't completely fond of it. She just wanted him to recover and working didn't seem the best of things right now. "Have you thought of anything?"

"No. I thought we could go and look for something. Together. Only if you want to, of course. I guess I understand if you don't."

"Of course I will, that's not the problem." She smiled at him and caressed his cheek. "The problem is that I don't want you making any effort."

"But I really want to do something!" And he needed to. It was hard enough to deal with the past and what it had caused them, he felt he had to make up for it. Haley couldn't be the only livelihood of the family. "We are in this together, Haley. And there are things out there that I could perfectly do without harming my back…"

She still wasn't fully convinced. Just the idea of Nathan going to that wheelchair again made her goose bumps. But, on the other hand, it would do Nathan some good if he had a distraction and did something. Maybe it would cheer him up and boost his ego to know he could still do other things other than playing basketball…

"Fine. But can we please go and talk with Dr. Campbell first? I want to be sure of everything." Haley told him, reluctantly approving the idea. Nathan nodded and smiled at her. They would be going to Dr. Campbell when they arrived from the camping and be sure of what was safe and what wasn't.

"So listen, I wanted to tell you something…" Nathan looked up at her, wondering what she had to tell him. Judging by the way she was biting her bottom lip, he knew it was important. "We'll be living together again starting next week…"

"I know. We'd already agreed on that, remember?" They had quickly discussed the subject and ended up agreeing it was the best for them and Jamie to move in only after the camping and all the fuss about it was over.

"Yeah, but that's not it." She nervously replied. "I was thinking…" she was furiously fidgeting the wedding band on her finger which didn't go unnoticed by Nathan. "I don't feel fully prepared to lead a normal married life and uh… I think I should sleep in the guest room until we are ready for more." It was like a bucket of ice had fallen on Nathan. He thought things were going great for them. He hadn't been naïve enough to believe Haley was ready to make love to him just like that but he thought they would be sleeping in the same bed. Did this mean she still hadn't forgiven him? Didn't she want him anymore?

This had been one of Haley's biggest issues. She wanted to be near Nathan and to work on their marriage. She wanted to be able to help him whenever he needed, like any wife would do for her husband and she wanted the best for her son. And she was sure she had forgiven Nathan for everything, like he had forgiven her. They had forgiven each other but sometimes it takes more than that to get back to normal. It takes time. And they would be using that time to heal, heal each other like she'd told him. Haley loved and trusted her husband but something inside of her made her know she still wasn't ready to make love to him. Maybe she was being silly, it's not like she was a virgin or something. But everytime they made love, it was out of this world… It was a way to fully give themselves to one another and although she missed the way he held her in his arms while they cuddled, the way he touched her, the way he would whisper all those sexy words that brought her to climax, the way he would kiss and caress her entire body, she knew she wasn't ready for it yet.

"Sure. I understand." Was Nathan's only response, ignoring all those questions hanging on his mind.

"This doesn't mean that I don't love you and that I haven't forgiven you. Because I have. I just need time…" Nathan looked at her and knew she wasn't lying. She was right, actually. Maybe even he needed time… _They_ needed time.

"Time to heal, right?" he looked at her with a soft smile on his face. She nodded before taking his hand on hers and giving it a little squish. On that moment, his hope of kissing her was gone. If she wasn't ready for sex, she probably wasn't ready for that either. But he could swear she had wanted it. He knew it. He knew her.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Jamie's voice shrieked through the car and everyone couldn't help but chuckle at his impatience. He had been asking the same question for the last 30 minutes.

"Why don't you save my son's voice and tell us where we're actually going, Brooke?" Nathan noticed the little smile Haley gave him when he asked Brooke what was their mysterious camping park. One week had passed and things between them hadn't changed that much. They usually picked Jamie up together, shared some lunches and dinners but nothing special had happened. They were taking their time and Nathan respected that. He liked it that way, to be honest. Of course he missed her, missed them. But their journey to recovery was being really nice. It was making him realize even more how important Jamie and Haley were to him. And how much he loved them. When they were around him, his mind seemed to forget about the ploy he had fallen into. He was still thinking about it, all of it. Should he go and talk with Jet Streamer? He wanted to know everything about that night and from what Lucas and Haley had told him, that punk seemed to be able to tell everything he knew just to screw his supposed friends over.

"Relax. We're not even leaving the state." Brooke's voice interrupted his thoughts and he soon focused again on their camping trip. They'd all left Tree Hill about one and a half hours ago and Brooke never told them where they were going, not letting anyone else drive. But she didn't get to escape all of Jamie's questions which filled up almost all their conversations during the trip.

"Man, I just hope there aren't any freaky animals out there…" everyone laughed at Skills's commentary who was sitting on the front sit next to Brooke.

"You'd better watch out. I know some spooky stories about snakes going in tents and-"

"Lucas." Haley turned back and glared at her best friend who was on the van's backseat with Peyton. She knew there wouldn't be any risk at the park they were going. Brooke had guaranteed her that but she still didn't need to have Jamie scared or anything like that.

"There are snakes there, uncle Lucas? Sweet!"

"Sweet? Brooke, I think you're going to have to stop the car and let me out…"

"Relax, Skills. There are no snakes, okay? I'm sure." Nathan tried to calm Skills down who had the biggest disgusted face at the moment. Haley had told him that Brooke said the park was safe and very clean. They still had no idea where they were going but it was a start not having to worry about other issues.

"Don't worry, uncle Skills. I'll protect you!"

"That's my boy!"

"The guys are right behind us, aren't they?" Brooke asked looking at the rearview mirror where she instantly noticed the black SUV and Junk waving at her.

"Yep. Poor Mouth, I'm sure he's been listening to Junk and Fergie's unfortunate love life the entire ride."

"Don't be mean, Peyton. I'm sure they're having a lot of fun."

"Mouth sure has an amused face right now" Brooke sarcastically replied, looking once again to the rearview mirror and looking at Mouth's annoyed expression.

"So... Are we there yet?"

* * *

"Brooke, this looks awesome!" Peyton shrieked as soon as they arrived to their destiny.

"It's beautiful!" Haley was marveled with this campground. The sightings were amazing with all the green emanating from the trees. The mountains reflected on the lake's clean water, the birds tweeting... It was like all the Nature's greatness was all combined in that place.

"Welcome to _Bear Den Campground_! I'm Josh and I'll be your assistant during your stay with us. If you need anything, just let me know. The reception is right there, at the park's entrance. I hope you all enjoy your time in here, we'll do our best to please you." The guide quickly introduced himself and helped them take out all the bagage of the cars.

"So... Josh. I'm Brooke Davis, I was the one sending you the emails and making our map of activities. Everything's ready, right?"

"It is. In fact, I was just about to tell you to go and have a walk around the park to choose a place to fix your tents."

"But there are houses all over here." Peyton muttered.

"Yes, there are but Miss Davis chose to use the tents instead which means you are not allowed to use the houses."

"And since when do you like camping and would choose sleeping on a tent over a comfortable bed, Brooke?"

"Are you mad? I just thought it would be funnier. And we can still use the bathrooms. Now can we go and see if we find a way to fix these?" Brooke asked lifting her arm which was holding one of the tents bag.

"I agree with Brooke. I think it will be funnier if we actually have to dare ourselves and sleep on tents. I just hope it doesn't rain..." Haley muttered looking at the sky.

"Really? 'Cause I'm praying for rain..." Nathan looked at her to see if she had caught the teasing tone in his voice and what he actually meant with that. Haley quickly looked at him, a small blush starting to creep over her face and before she could say anything he grabbed one of the trent bags and started walking away, trying to reach Jamie who was already questioning Josh. Haley just smiled and tried to focus on the activities that were awaiting them, ignoring the sudden intense beat of her heart.

* * *

After their walk, where they got familiarized with the park, they all reunited in the main saloon where they would be faced with their first activity.

"One of the things our campground is famous for is the activities we create to entertain our guests. While speaking to Miss Davis -"

"Please call me Brooke."

"- Brooke, she agreed with us doing some sort of championship." Everyone looked at Brooke who just wiggled her eyebrows. "We have some activities prepared for you and for that we'll separate you into groups. In each activity there will be a winner who'll gain 3 points for each victory." Suddenly there was a buzz in the room and Brooke decided to intervene.

"I've planned things this way but if you guys don't want any competition, we can back out."

"I'm in. I miss competing." As soon as Nathan blurted that out, Haley reached for his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah, I think it wil be fun and make us some good." she declared to Brooke.  
When everyone agreed on the competition, Josh started writing distributing each member a black box.

"Okay so inside those black boxes is a coloured scarf. There will be three groups of 3 and one group of 4 and people with the scarf of the same color will obviously be on the same team. I should remember these teams are valid for all the activities we'll do, they won't change from activity to activity... You can unwrap the boxes now and good luck!" They all started unwrapping the black paper but Nathan pretended to be having trouble with it. He wanted to see which color was Haley's scarf. He was praying that they would have the same color, he just had to take whatever opportunity he had to be near her. He wanted them to be a team again and this could really help them get back on track, work together again, despite of how different these games were from being on a marriage. But it could still help.  
Yellow. That's the color she had gotten. He quickly tore his paper apart and... Green. _Damn it! _He should know he wouldn't be that lucky... That's when he felt a hand on his shoulder before Lucas turned both their backs to the group. Without saying a word, Lucas took the green scarf out of Nathan's hand and replaced it with his yellow one. Before Nathan knew it, they were facing Josh and the group again and after sending Lucas a thank you look, he proudly raised his yellow scarf. He quickly glanced at Haley and smirked leaving her without reaction. That had been happening quite frequently lately.

"So Brooke, Mouth and Fergie are part of the Team Orange. Lucas, Jamie, Junk and Skills are the Team Green and Haley, Nathan and I are the Team Yellow. We're so going to beat up your asses." Peyton muttered to the other teams.

* * *

"You know, if all the activities are like this, I'm sure we're going to win. We have the best cook ever." Nathan whispered on Haley's ear as he walked behind her to grab the flour. Haley closed her eyes slightly and tried to control the shiver that passed through her body, trying to distract herself with cheese she was grating.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." she replied with a small smirk of her own while Peyton watched them in the distance. She was trying to leave the two alone as much as possible to see if something happened. "What are you doing with that?" Haley asked as she saw Nathan with a bunch of grapes. "Oh no... No grapes!"

"Haley, we all know it's delicious."

"Nathan, pizza and grapes do NOT mix!"

"You put grapes in your pizza?" Peyton asked almost spitting a piece of pepperoni she had put in her mouth.

"Yes, he does. And it's awful. We're not going to put grapes in the pizza, Nathan."

"Why not?" he asked her teasingly, approaching her so that he could trap her between his body and the balcony.

"Because it's not good."

"Well, I say it's great."

"But you have a doubtful taste..." she replied getting along in his little game.

"Oh really?" He was becoming more and more closer to her face.

"Yes." Her eyes were twinkling with amusement when Josh came in and Nathan took a step back, still with a smile on his face.

"Sorry to interrupt your baking but just to let you know, you have 20 more minutes to finish that treat of a pizza."

"Hey Josh!" Peyton called him just before he left again and pushed him out of the kitchen. Nathan and Haley obviously needed some time alone and something told Peyton they wouldn't mind to put the ingredients on the pizza for her. "So I have some questions to ask you... I'll be right back, you guys." and they both left.

"You were never a fan of my grape pizza, were you?" Nathan chuckled while grabbing the rolling pin to spread the mass.

"No. You know perfectly well how I feel about that particular fruit on the pizza, thank you." Haley said laughing. Still today she was unable to understand Nathan's undying love for grape pizza. It was just... not good. "Can you pass me the tomato sauce, please?"

"Sure. Although I was thinking in replacing the sauce with grape juice, what do you say?"

"Haha." she swatted him on the shoulder. "We'd win for sure!"

"We would have the surprise effect with us."

"That's for sure." Haley grabbed the spoon and started spreading the tomato sauce on the pizza.  
Nathan looked at her and let out a small laugh, looking at her with a playful smile. Haley raised her head so she could look at him. "What?"

"You have a little bit of tomato sauce in here", he let his index finger rest on her chin, feeling the electricity. "Can I?"

Haley looked at him and after a while she found the strenght to answer him.  
"Sure."

Without thinking twice, Nathan grabbed her face in his hands and placed his lips on her chin. Haley closed her eyes at the feeling. She wasn't expecting that. She thought he was going to wipe it off with his hands and not with his mouth, but she wasn't complaining. Not at all. It felt so good. She felt his tongue softly licking her skin and her body trembled, the shivers going up and down her spine and she had to make an effort not to moan. She missed those kisses of his. She missed everything about him. When he drew back, she instantly felt the lost of his touch and slowly opened her eyes. His blue orbs were dark and held concern at the same time.

"Sorry. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry, Haley."

"It's okay". _More than okay_. "It's okay". She placed her hand on his cheek to reassure him. They were husband and wife and still had a lot to deal with but they were already past that awkwardness. She had been thinking a lot about that these last few weeks and the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced she was ready to take the next step. In this case, she was ready to become more intimate with Nathan again. Sex was still on another level but a few kisses here or there would be nice. Amazing, actually. She missed being kissed by those lips of his.

"Really?" Nathan put his hands over hers, making sure she was okay with what had just happened. He did that in the heat of the moment. He wanted to kiss her so badly that he had just gone for it without even thinking.

"Yeah" she said, grabbing one of his hands and placing a kiss on it.

"So how is that pizza going?" Peyton stomped into the kitchen. "Oh. Sorry." Nathan and Haley drew back from each other and continued their tasks.

"We just need to put the ingredients and then put it in the oven."

* * *

"This pizza is great, Haley! I've never eaten grape pizza but it's pretty good." Nathan was pissed off. All dinner this Josh dude had practically been drooling over Haley and wouldn't stop complimenting her. Who did this guy think he was? He clenched his fists while he tried to enjoy the pizza but he couldn't. He was sure the vein in his forehead would pop out any moment.

"Thanks. Actually, Nathan was the one adding the grapes. I'm not really a fan." Take that.

"But you helped him therefore I'm sure you gave it a special touch." Nathan glared at him. Was he flirting with her? He did know she was married, right? And that her husband was just sit next to her, right?  
Haley didn't know how to react. What Josh had definitely not been innocent taking in the way he had said so and smirked afterwards. What was she supposed to say?

"No, I think that was all Nathan." she rested her hands over Nathan's and she felt how tense he was. "Right, honey?" Innocent or not, she needed Josh to know she was married and was not available or interested. Nathan quickly felt all his anger go as soon as he heard Haley call him _honey_. He looked at her completely delighted.

"Yeah, I told you grape pizza was good." and he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek. He wanted to show Josh she was his but he also wanted to do it. He always wanted to kiss Haley, anytime, anywhere.  
If the dumbass continued with his little games on her, he'd have to act. For now, he was just going to wait and see.

**AN: Okay, here it is. As I said before, the next chapter will be up in a week. Reviews are a lot appreciated. Thank you all :)**


	12. After The Rain Has Fallen

**Thank you for the reviews! I think this story has about 4/5 chapters left. And after that, I think I'll finally be publishing a new one I've been writing for a while now. It will be AU and there will be something featured that I've never seen in other NH stories (the ones I've read). It can go right or it can go bad, I'll leave that to the readers. Anyway, back to _Beautiful Disaster_, here's the next chapter:**

Nathan couldn't stop glaring just thinking of him. Two hours had passed since Josh had talked inappropriately to his wife but it was still fresh in his head. He remembered every single word and everytime he rewinded it on his mind, his anger intensified, his jaw and fists clenched. Suddenly, he missed his crutches. Not that he needed them to beat the crap out of this guy but the picture of him, accidentally on purpose, beating Josh's balls (as well as other parts of his body) with his crutches was pretty great.

"Don't feel like that. We already showed him I'm married." Haley's sweet voice took him out of his daze as he felt her hands on his shoulders. Nathan was sit on the grass by their SUV which had been parked near their tents, by the river. There were only a few bushes separating the car from the rest of the group who was by the tents talking and laughing by the bonfire they had lit up.

"I didn't like it." Nathan muttered.

"I know you didn't. And neither did I." Haley said while sitting on the grass, right next to him. "But there's nothing you have to be worried about. I mean, I'm sure these guys spend the most part of their lives in here, showing people around and asking them to make pizzas. It makes sense they try to score one of the girls that come in here."

"You know that's not really helping, right?" Nathan chuckled.

Haley joined in the laughter. "Hey". She grabbed his chin with her right hand and turned his face to her. "I'm serious. I'm pretty sure he got the clue and won't behave like that again. If he does, I'll talk to him, okay?" Nathan smiled softly.

"It's your fault, you know? If you weren't so beautiful and hot and kind and an amazing cook and adorable and sexy and-"

"Oh stop it. You're embarrassing me." Haley couldn't help but blush at his words. She felt her heart beat faster. Nathan had said she was hot and sexy. That had been something she hadn't felt for a while.

"I'm serious too." This time it was Nathan's turn to grab her chin and caress it softly with his fingers. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment and it was like they were seeing one another's souls. They both wondered what the other was thinking and if _that_ was part of their thoughts. They wanted it. They wanted each other's lips. They wanted each other. After a while, Nathan sighed deeply and brought Haley's forehead to his lips, placing a soft and prolongued kiss there. _All in good time_, he thought. He didn't want to risk anything. They just laid there, in each other's arms, with their heads supported on each other, the both of them looking at the shiny reflex of the moon on the river's water. After a while, Haley started laughing loudly which made Nathan look at her with an intrigued look.

"What?" he asked.

"I still can't believe your pizza won this first activity..." Nathan smirked at her.

"Are you doubting my cooking skills, Haley James?"

"No, I'm not. But pizza grape?" she let out another laugh.

"You're just jealous I'm about to become a _chef_."

"Oh of course!"

"At least my idea gave us 3 points..."

"What I wanted to put on the pizza would have given us the 3 points too."

"Hales, c'mon. There is no such a thing as mac and cheese pizza". Haley punched him lightly on the shoulder and teasingly glared at him.

"I wasn't going to put mac and cheese on the pizza! That's like... impossible." Haley chuckled.

"I'm sure Jamie wouldn't mind."

"That's for sure."

"He's having fun, isn't he?" Nathan asked her after a brief moment of silence had passed.

"He's in Wonderland right now. Lucas and Peyton were playing cards with him. I'm really happy we came."

"Me too. Despite what happened just an hour ago."

"Are you more calm now?" she rubbed his hand over his back to try and soothe it.

"I am. That's what happens when I'm near you." Nathan grabbed her left hand and kissed her wedding ring, never taking his eyes from her. Haley knew that feeling in the pit of her stomach and somehow, she couldn't take her eyes out of Nathan's, even when she felt the shiver on her spine. The hand that had been rubbing his back suddenly stopped and cup the side of his face, caressing it lightly with her thumb. "But you know one thing that could actually let me feeling better?" When asking the question, he had a smile on his lips that didn't vanish when he quickly got up from the floor and pulled his car keys out of his pocket. Haley furrowed her eyebrows. What was he doing? That's when she saw him taking something out of the luggage. "I was hoping you would sing for me." Haley looked surprisingly at him and at the guitar he took out of the black guitar case. She had no idea he had brought it with them. Music hadn't been one of her priorities in the last few months. With everything that had happened, she just didn't feel like playing or singing. There were times where she had tried to sit at the piano but nothing would come out. She just wasn't with her head in the right place. But now that things were getting better, she'd definitely dedicate more of her time to music.

"Will you? Please." She knew it. She knew Nathan would use his puppy eyes and face to try and convince her. "There's no better way for me to relax than hear you sing." She looked one last time at him and saw how much he really wanted her to play for him and couldn't resist him so she just nodded weakly while smiling at him. Nathan's whole face lit up as he passed her the guitar and sit by her side once again.

"Which do you want me to sing?"

"You choose. I like them all." Haley wanted to do this for him. And also for her, she missed singing. She missed it all. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she looked at her guitar and started remembering _Leaving Town Alive'_s chords. It was an old song of hers but she knew it was one of Nathan's favourites. She looked one last time at Nathan as if to gain inspiration and started singing.

_Spending all your money _  
_Ain't it funny how the time goes by? _  
_First you start believing _  
_Then you're leaving for no reason _  
_And you're wondering why _  
_So till the morning breaks _  
_Go and make your mistakes _  
_Don't be surprised if your head hurts _  
_Life is for the living, the forgiven and for leaving town alive_

As Haley was singing, Nathan looked intently at her. Her voice seemed angelic to him and he immediately felt the tension leave his body. There was just something about hearing her sing, her voice... She was just amazing and he fell in love with her all over again.  
Suddenly he looked up and he saw everyone silently approaching them, with all their eyes on Haley and listening to her sing. It was like they were all enchanted.

When Haley was done, all the clapping and whistling behind her scared her and when she looked behind she saw everyone smiling at her.

"That was awesome, Hales!" Lucas beamed.

"I love it when you sing, mama!" Jamie ran towards Haley who put down the guitar and welcomed him in her arms.

"Thanks baby." she whispered and kissed her son's rosy cheek. "I didn't know you guys were there" she smiled shyly at the rest of the group.

"We heard you sing and had to come check it out." Peyton muttered and Haley nodded weakly at her, at the same time she looked at Nathan by the corner of her eye. He was staring at her. Even with everyone else talking, he hadn't taken his eyes off her. She loved it when he looked at her that way. She'd always be able to see it all in his eyes: love, desire, admiration... lust. The heat in her stomach started increasing again.

"Uncle Skills was just about to tell us about a new game for us to play. Can we all go?" Jamied pleaded, looking at his parents. Nathan and Haley locked their eyes and they both instantly knew their little moment together was over.

"Sure we can, pal."

"Hey Jamie, what if we go and set things up, huh?" Skills grabbed Jamie's hand and the rest of the gang understood what that meant: leave Nathan and Haley a little more alone time.

"We'll be right behind, sweetie." Haley assured him and he just nodded, disappearing behind the bushes, just like everyone else.

"Thank you. You are a great singer, Haley." he offered him his hand so she could stand up. "There's no one else in the world I'd rather hear." He was being honest. From that moment he had heard sing on Karen's Café, he'd known she would always be her favourite singer in the world. When she got herself up, with his help, she looked shyly at him, her blush taking over her face once again. "We should go before the boy starts thinking we lied to him." Haley nodded and the sudden urge she felt to grab his hand surprised her. And surprised was exactly what Nathan was once they started walking towards the bonfire and Haley grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. He just looked at her and smiled because soon enough they were already by the bonfire.

* * *

_It felt so good. Her body was on fire as they moved together between the sheets. All of his weight was on her, her sculped wet chest pressing agains her diamond hard nipples as the friction drove the both of them crazy. His mouth was sucking on her neck, determined to leave a mark. She tilted her head to the side to give him better access but before she could continue feeling his soft, talented lips on her neck, she felt them travel down her body until she felt him licking one of her perk nipples while caressing the other with his hand. She had to bite her bottom lip to prevent her from moaning._

_"You're so beautiful." Nathan told before moving to the side to pay the same attention to her other breast. _

_"Nathan."_

"Nathan." Haley's voice stirred up Nathan and he quickly looked at her sleeping state. He looked between them and Jamie was still asleep. "Nathan!" he knew that. The way she was saying his name was way too familiar. Was he dreaming or was this real? Was Haley actually moaning his name? He had to clear his mind for a second so a certain part of his anatomy would calm down.

"Haley." He finally found the strenght to rock her softly, trying to wake her up. He didn't want to. He had missed hearing her moan his name and suddenly images of them making love flashed his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to focus, he couldn't think about being with her like that. Especially not now with their son sleeping between them and when his innocent hears could hear something that they shouldn't. After a few seconds, Haley started to stirr, opening her eyes slowly. "Are you okay? You seemed..." he couldn't finish the sentence, not knowing what to say so he just smirked.

As soon as Haley saw the smirk plastered on her husband's name, she suddenly remembered what she had been dreaming. _Oh my God_. Her eyes instantly got wide and she looked at him, her face flushed. She had been having another dream about him. Them. Those had been frequent recently. Maybe it was the way her body and mind found to tell her how much she missed making love to him. How much she wanted it. "Are you okay?" he repeated.

"Yeah." she said quickly. Nathan kept looking at her and noticed she felt a little uneasy talking about her dream. He didn't know what she had been dreaming but by the way she was moaning his name, he was sure it had been something erotic. "Did I wake you up?"

"I heard you say my name so I thought you were calling me." Haley's cheeks were now red as a tomato and Nathan chuckled.

"Oh my God", she whispered, hiding her face in her hands, realizing Nathan had put two and two together and realized just what she had been dreaming about. Nathan just kept looking at her with a proud smile on his face. "We should probably get some sleep, we have a long day awaiting us tomorrow. And we don't want to wake him up." she said, pointing to Jamie after a few seconds of silence. Nathan nodded and readjusted himself once again on his sleeping bag.

"Good night, Hales."

"Good night."

"And don't worry. I dream about you too." Haley opened her eyes that were already shut and after a few moments had passed, she closed them again with her lips curving upwards. _I hoped so_.

* * *

It was 6 am when they were all woken up by Josh's loudspeaker. Apparently, their next activity was going to be a treasure hunt and they had to be ready early so they could finish all the activities planned for the day. Now they were having breakfast in one of the chalets.

Once they were done, they were all reunited in the woods, the starting point of the treasure hunt.

"Okay, so you all know how treasure hunts work, right?" Josh looked at the group and when no one said anything, he proceeded. "You do know what is a treasure hunt, don't you Nathan?" Haley glared at Josh, what exactly was he implying?

"Of course I know what's a freaking treasure hunt!" Who was this punk trying to mess with?

"Sorry, it's just you were making a weird face and I thought you didn't know." Weird face... It's called glare. But he left that out. What Haley had told him had relaxed him but still that didn't mean he was going to be all smiles to the guy.

"It's the only face I have so get used to it." Lucas looked suspiciously at his brother. Why was he talking to Josh like that?

"Again, I'm sorry." Everyone could feel the tension in the air. "Anyway, this activity will last almost the entire day, we have others planned for the day, but this is going to be the hardest. Those maps you have with you will help you find the clues you'll have to find to reach the treasure. There will be some old little houses on your path and I can tell you the clues will be inside those houses. But pay attention because not all the houses contain clues. You'll have to take your chance and enter the houses to see if they actually have something inside. The first group reaching the treasure will obviously be the winner. And the last group will have to clean the kitchen tonight."

"What about the winners, what do they win?" Brooke asked.

"3 points. Isn't that enough?" Josh asked with a broad smile. "Okay, you can get started. We'll leave in 5 minutes."

"It'll be today, baby. We're going to win. I can tell it." Fergie shouted turning his head to Lucas.

"Easy, Fergie. And please, never ever call me 'baby' again." Lucas swatted him on the chest as he walked towards Nathan. "Hey, are you okay? What was that all about with Josh?"

"I don't like the guy."

"Why? He seems nice." Lucas looked at Haley, trying to get an answer from her.

"Uncle Lucas, uncle Skills is calling us. We have to go!" Jamie ran into them. "Bye mama, bye daddy. I love you but this time we're going to win!" the three adults laughed with Jamie's excitement.

"Have fun, you beasty boy!" Haley muttered, placing a kiss on the top of his head.

"Okay, let's go then, champ. We'll continue this later, okay?" Jamie and Lucas waved them goodbye and walked towards Fergie and Skills who were already ready to leave.

"So, are you ready for another win?" Nathan asked suggestively.

"Definitely!"

* * *

"These maps are so screwed up. I swear I don't understand a thing!" Peyton said as they were walking through the dense woods. "Are you guys even listening to me?" she looked behing only to find Nathan and Haley talking to each other as if nothing else in the world existed. No wonder they hadn't said a thing... "Hey guys! I love that you two are finally on your way back to each other but I need a little-" Peyton's loud "Ouch!" interrupted Nathan and Haley's convo and as soon as they looked, they saw Peyton running into a branch of a tree.

"Are you okay?" Haley ran towards Peyton as soon as she saw what had happened. Much to her surprise Peyton started laughing at herself.

"I guess you are." Nathan chuckled and soon they all started laughing.

"If you two had been listening to me, I wouldn't have looked behind and I would've seen the branch."

"Don't blame us for your lack of ability to see things." Nathan muttered.

"Hey, isn't that a chimney?" Haley asked them, looking in the distance. There was only a chimney visible, nothing else could be seen due to the height of the trees but if that was a chimney..."

"It's a house!" Nathan concluded and after looking all at each other for a few moments, they started running in the chimney's direction. As they were getting closer, the house was becoming clearer: it was old, the windows were all broken and the walls were full of moss and mold. They instantly twitched their noses.

"Are we really going in there?" Peyton asked looking disgustingly at the house.

"We have to. The clues might be in here." Haley approached the door and realized it was already opened. A sudden whiff of condensed air invaded her nose, making her cough.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked, approaching her. "God, it smells like ass in here." he cringed when the smell reached his nose.

"The house is not that big so it won't be that hard." Haley stated.

"Okay. Let's go." Nathan looked at Peyton who was still firm in her place. "Are you coming or what?"

"Fine. The things we do for 3 points." she said after a few moments of silence.

They slowly walked inside the house which was completely empty. They looked around, trying to find any traces of clues.

"We should check out that room." Peyton pointed to their left, to one entrance at the end of the room. As they walked, the floor started creaking, echoing in the house. When they were inside of what once looked like a kitchen, because of the old fridge resting in one of the corners of the room. They supposed the thing was once white but right now was as yellow as the sun. Nathan pushed its handle so he could open it but nothing happened and when he noticed it, the handle was in his hand.

"Nice." he muttered before placing his hands on the side of the fridge's door and opening it. Inside, there was nothing but a little piece of paper. Haley quickly grabbed it. It was part of a map.

"It's a clue, right?" she asked. "When we have all the clues and join all the pieces, the map will tell us where's the treasure."

"Yeah, it makes sense." Nathan agreed.

"Great! So we can leave this creepy place now, right?" just as Peyton finished the sentence, she felt a hand on her head and they all heard the sound of something cracking. Peyton felt something pasty draining down her head and then they all felt something falling on them. It was white and as the girls' screamings intensified, Haley clunged on Nathan for dear life. Nathan tried to see what the hell was happening. He saw a figure, dressed all in white and had a... flour bag with him? What the hell? Before he could take action, laughter filled the room and the white figure took out the white bag of her head. As soon as Haley and Peyton saw Amanda, one of the camp's instructors, the screams immediatley stopped.

"I'm sorry. It's just part of what we have to do." Amanda said in between laughs.

"Scare the hell out of us?" Peyton asked her, still trying to calm herself down. "And what is-" she put her hand on her head and felt the pasty substance again. She looked at her hand and saw some colorless substance. Without warning, Amanda broke two more eggs on Nathan and Haley's heads, taking advantage of the fact they were looking at Peyton's head.

"What the f-" Nathan yelled when he felt something break on his head.

"Don't worry, they're just eggs. We're doing this to everyone so you two couldn't escape." Haley looked at Nathan and saw the yellow gem on top of his now white hair and that, along with his annoyed face, made her laugh.

"You look so cute" she said laughing. Haley's comment made Nathan instantly feel better and he laughed too.

"Oh you think it's funny?" he asked, approaching her.

"Yes."

"Okay. We'll talk about that later." he flashed her his smirk and then turned to Amanda. "So now that you're happy for breaking eggs down her heads and covered us with flour, can we go?"

* * *

"There's just one more clue left and we've been looking for it for hours now. Look, the sun has almost set." Nathan muttered. They had been able to find 2 more clues as the day went by but they just couldn't find the last one. They had gone to all the houses they had found but nothing. And the pieces they already had weren't enough to know the location of the treasure. He was sick of it, to be honest. He preferred to be spending all this time alone with Haley and playing with Jamie. But no, instead, they looked like three little kids going on a treasure hunt! He was hoping someone would have found the damn thing already so they could come back.

"Are you feeling okay?" Haley asked him, grabbing his biceps softly. She had been extra careful the entire day, asking him if he was tired or feeling any pain. So far he was good, he was a little tired, but nothing that wouldn't be normal for someone who had been walking all day long. But his back seemed fine, he hadn't had any problem or felt any pain.

"I am. I'm just tired. I'm sick of this treasure hunt thing." before Haley or Peyton could say anything, Peyton's mobile phone beeped. She took it out of her pocket. "It's a text from Lucas." she said before reading it. "_You can come back. We just found the treasure! Brooke, Mouth and Fergie have finished too._"

"I bet Jamie's ecstasic for having won." Nathan beamed.

"Yeah. I'm sure he won't stop talking about it during dinner." Haley laughed.

"I'm super happy for Jamie but do you know what this means? We're going to have to clean the kitchen!" Peyton protested. "I'm just so tired..."

* * *

After taking baths to wash their hairs, everyone went to the dining room where they were served nothing else other than mac and cheese. Haley and Nathan changed knowing looks between them and Nathan even whispered on her ear how there was no better mac and cheese than the one she made. It was true. Although this one was good, it was nothing compared to Haley's. Everyone enjoyed their meals, except for Fergie and Mouth who had come back from the treasure hunt not feeling so good. They didn't know what had happened but they weren't hungry and were extremely sleepy. It might have had something to do with the fact that they forgot their tent back in Tree Hill and had slept tonight outside. When dinner finished, they both left the gang to try and get some sleep.

"Are you sure you guys don't need help?" Lucas asked, looking at the amount of things they had to clean.

"Yes, please help us!" Peyton said, hugging Lucas while pretending she was crying. "I'm so tired..."

"You go you two. I'll clean this." Haley offered before feeling Jamie's little hand pushing her blouse.

"Can I sleep tonight in uncle Lucas and aunt Peyton's tent? They invited me!" he asked with pleading eyes. Haley looked at both Lucas and Peyton.

"Are you sure?" she asked them.

"Of course. We promised to tell him some stories..." Peyton singsonged.

"Fine. I'm sure Nathan won't mind either." Haley finally conceded.

"Sweet!"

"Okay, you boys go now. I'll be right there in a second." Peyton told them, grabbing a cloth to start cleaning all the dishes.

"I'm serious, Peyton. Go with them. You're really tired. Don't worry, I'll take care of this."

"Haley, you're tired too so that's not really an excuse. This is a group thing and I'll do it."

"But you haven't spent any time with Luke today. Go have fun now. Really, I'll take care of this, don't worry."

"You really don't mind?"

"No. Now go! And thank you for taking care of Jamie tonight."

"Thank you, Haley. And you're welcome. I swear I'm going to make up to you tomorrow. Good night!" Peyton swatted her on the butt and then walked out of the room. Haley started doing the dishes and she felt a pair of hands massaging her shoulders.

"Hmm, that feels good." she half-moaned, knowing perfectly well who those hands belonged to. Nathan had gone to the bathroom just instants before Lucas and Peyton had arrived to the kitchen. "Lucas and Peyton invited Jamie to sleep in their tent tonight. I said it was okay. Do you mind?"

"Of course not. The boy tosses around like crazy." the idea of him and Haley alone, sharing a tent, had suddenly turned the night more interesting. "Where's Peyton?"

"I told her to go. I'll take care of this. And you can go too, Nathan. I'll do this."

"There's no way in hell I'm going to leave you here doing all this by yourself."

"But-"

"Besides, if we both do it, it'll be faster."

"Okay. Thank you." she smiled at him and then focused on the dishes, never ignoring the yearn she felt for him.

* * *

"Is it just me or has the temperature dropped?" Nathan asked as they left the kitchen to go their tent. During the day it had been hot but now it was cold as they could tell when the soft breeze hit their bodies.

"Yeah, it's cold." Haley replied putting her arms around her petite figure to try and not feel the cool air.

"Here. Take this." Nathan had already taken off his jacket and put it around her shoulders.

"Thanks. You didn't need to do that though. Aren't you cold?" she now put her arms around his waist to try and keep him warm.

"I can take it." he shrugged his shoulders.

Finally, they reached their tent. Everyone else was already sleeping which didn't shock them at all considering how worn out they had all been. When Haley was about to get inside their tent, she noticed Mouth and Fergie were in there.

"Mouth and Fergie are in our tent." she stated numbly. What are they doing here?

"What? Figures. Those two forget their tent and now they're sleeping in ours. I'll wake them up." Nathan was already kneeling before Haley stopped him.

"Don't. They're sick, let them stay in there."

"What about us?"

"We can sleep in our car. It won't be the first time..." Nathan swore Haley had used her subtle teasing tone and all his doubts were dissipated when she flashed him a little smirk of her own.  
He remembered the countless times they had made love or just cuddled in the backseat.

"We can, can't we?" he replied in the same tone, making her laugh. He felt the urge to be closer to her and he put his arm around her, bringing her into his embrace. The short walk to their car was made in silence. Comfortable silence. They liked just being peacefully in each other's arms. Once they passed the bushes, the river's water came into view and they just stared at it for a minute before Nathan opened the passenger door for Haley to come in. "I have some blankets in the luggage."

Already inside the car, Haley rotated the rearview mirror so she could see Nathan grabbing the blankets. For some reason, she couldn't take his eyes out of him. She watched as Nathan opened the door and got in the car, giving her the blankets.

"Are you still cold? We can turn on the heating system." Nathan told her while clicking on the buttons.

"Don't worry. I'm fine." Haley assured him, not being able to contain her yawn.

"We should probably get some sleep." Nathan suggested while bringing his hand to cup her cheek. "You're tired."

"I am." After staring at each other for the next few seconds, Haley finally leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Good night, Nathan." she then rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

"Good night, Hales." Nathan sighed before surrendering to sleep.

An hour hadn't passed when Nathan woke up with the loud sound of rain hitting the windows. He stirred up and looked outside. It looked like a storm was about to hit. He was surprised when Haley didn't seem to have woken up. She usually had a light sleep. He spent a good 5 minutes looking outside and he noticed the flashlights by the tents. Josh had probably came to let everyone in so they wouldn't get wet, like he said he would if it rained.

"It looks bad." he heard Haley say as she raised her head to look outside. "Jamie." Their son and the rest of their friends were out there in the rain.

"Don't worry. I've seen flashlights by the tents so I'm sure Josh came out to let them in the chalet."

"I hope so."

"Don't worry. Lucas and Peyton will take care of him." Nathan tried to calm her down as his fingers caressed her hair. He looked down at her and couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster. He knew he was staring but he couldn't help it. He could spend the rest of his life like this, with her in his arms.

"What?" she asked softly when he noticed him looking so intently at her.

"I never told you but I love your hair like this, Haley. You look beautiful." Ever since she had cut her hair, he had never commented on it. She had done it when he was still in his dark place and never cared to comment on it. But he had noticed it as soon as she got home. He had noticed how the short hair perfectly framed her face and supported her delicate features. He had loved it. And he still did.

"Thank you." Haley started feeling the butterflies on her belly... again. It had been something she'd always felt when she was around Nathan but ever since they had tried to get back on track, there was something new to it. She felt this desire that made her feel like she couldn't take any longer. This didn't seem to go unnoticed by Nathan because he was feeling exactly the same thing and the way they were both looking at each other's eyes and lips right now was proof of it. Their faces were dangerously close due to their positions and they could feel each other's breaths on their lips. Nathan closed his eyes, surrendering to his feelings and need to feel her. Need to kiss her. He leaned in even more and now their lips were touching but not moving. Just the feel of him, the feel of his lips on hers, made Haley shut her eyes.

"It's raining." Nathan whispered in a husky tone and before he could tell, Haley had crashed their lips together. They both moaned into each other's mouth and their lips were just locking, they weren't even moving. That's when Haley couldn't control herself and she traced her tongue around his lips, letting him know what she wanted. He quickly gave in and opened his mouth, shoving his tongue on her mouth only to meet her own. Their tongues erotically fought for dominance and they couldn't help but moan. Haley's nails dug into his shoulders and Nathan's were frantically caressing her face. They tasted each other, revelling in the distant but familiar feeling. They had both wanted this moment for so long and now they were finally having it. All their love was put into that kiss as they caressed each other's tongues in one of the most intimate ways. The both of them taking in the all the pleasure they were feeling but also aware of what this kiss meant: they were going to be just fine.

**AN: Finally, the "first" kiss. I hope you liked it. It will continue in the next chapter, which you can expect in a week from now. R&R, thank you :)**


	13. It Was Fear Of Myself That Made Me Odd

**Thank you very much for your kind words and for all the feedback. We're approaching the end of this story but there are still some things that need to happen first. I've tried my best not to rush the Nathan/Haley reunion and hopefully you'll think it was done the right way. **

**On another note, this that I'll talk about now is a very important issue, so I'd like to ask for your attention. One of my favourite and most talented writers of the NH fandom was recently object of a disgusting and shameful acts because of her amazing talent. It seems that some people got jealous that she didn't belong to more fandoms and for some insane reason that no healthy person seems to understand, the people responsible for these acts thought it was okay to insult the author _constantly _and disdain her work. For envy. Now what I ask you is that if you see people doing this, report it to (although apparently they don't really do much) and, above all, support the targeted writer and give them support. It's crutial that we are all united against these deplorable and childish behaviours. Support our writers and stand up for them! Thank you! Now on to the next chapter.**

When the need for air became an issue, Nathan and Haley drew apart, resting their foreheads against each other. The feelings that they were currently experiencing were just too good to be true. A feeling of newness but also familiarity. Lust and love. Desire and passion. But at the same time, there was a feeling that surprised them both: sadness. They both knew it had been their fault they got here, to the point where kissing felt like something not normal for two people who were married. A feeling that they couldn't make out why it was there when everything else was consuming them. It was only when they reluctantly opened their eyes and looked at each other that they figured out why, the true reason why they were also sad. It was because they could have been doing this for a much longer time if none of them had made stupid mistakes.

Haley started laughing and her grip on his face became stronger. Nathan was somewhat relieved that she seemed more than happy with the kiss. He knew she had wanted it but to actually see her smile like that again stirred something inside of him. He did the same and soon there was a smile shaping his lips. His strong thumb started caressing her soft skin and she closed her eyes at the gesture. It was only when she felt his intense gaze on her that she opened them up again and saw how his eyes were clouded with a dark shade and the way he was staring at her almost made her moan. That was the look she loved, the look where she could clearly see how much he loved and wanted her, like she was everything in the world to him.

"I've missed you so much, Haley." he finally let out, still caressing her cheek.

"I've missed you too." Without a second thought, Nathan leaned in and their lips crashed once again. Now that he knew she was ready to kiss him, he would make up for the lost time. A few minutes later the kiss ended and Haley started giggling.

"What?" Nathan asked. Haley took her eyes away from him and looked outside where the rain was still falling hard and fast.

"It's the rain, huh?" she asked softly, her eyes still glued to the window.

"I told you I'd be praying for rain..." Haley looked at him once again and when she saw the grin on his face she let her head fall back and let out a sigh before grabbing his face in her hands.

"C'mere." she said before starting to kiss him again. He moaned at her eagerness and couldn't help but plunge his tongue in her mouth. He just couldn't get enough of her. His hands started roaming down her body, always conscious not to cross any boundaries, bringing her body closer to hers. They only stopped when Nathan felt the car's handbrake poking on his ribs. When he drew away from her, she opened her eyes and realized what had been bothering him.

"Let's go to the backseat", she suggested, all of a sudden, with her eyebrows slightly wiggled. Nathan wasted no time in jumping to the backseat and when he was already comfortable, he pulled Haley to him, careful not to hurt her in the process. "Better?" Haley asked when she rested her body on top of his. This way they could sleep a lot better, having more space to stretch their bodies.

"Definitely." he replied before grabbing her face once again and lavishing her mouth with kisses. It all felt so right that none of them ever wanted to pull away. They were perfecty aware they looked like a couple of teenagers but they weren't worried at all. They craved each other and after being emotionally and physically detached from one another for so long, this was everything they'd wished for. They were having a steamy make out session that didn't end until they both needed to breathe again. That was becoming an habit that night. After they managed to control their heavy breaths, Nathan let out a satisfied groan, making Haley laugh and nuzzle her nose into his chest. "Should we talk about this, Hales?" he popped up the question after a few minutes of silence. Haley started moving her body until she moved away from him to a sitting position and he did the same.

"Okay." she nodded. "I love you, Nathan-"

"I love you too."

"I know you do." Haley smiled. "And I know we are going to be just fine, sooner or later. What do you think got us to this point?"

"My accident and how I treated you and Jamie after that." Nathan answered, a little anxious about where the conversation was going.

"I'm not talking about specific things but the reason why they happened and what will we have to improve from now on so we can prevent them to happen again. Your accident and how we both reacted to it caused this but what could we have avoided? How could we have fixed it?"

They both paused for a second to think about what Haley had just said.

"I told you: I shut off myself from you because I felt like you deserved better, more than a guy on a wheelchair who couldn't do anything. But it was only when you left that I realized I couldn't live without you. That's why I started fighting again, I had to have you back. And Jamie."

"If I were in a wheelchair, would you feel like you and our son would deserve better?"

"Of course not." He didn't even want to think about that.

"Then why do you think that about yourself?" Haley's question got Nathan thinking. He wasn't sure about it. Before the accident he had been a king, a basketball star. He had had it all: the girl, the basketball, the family, the money... He had been happy and fulfilled. "Talk to me, Nathan. I need you to let me in. I don't want you to lie to me to protect me or to treat me badly because you feel like you don't deserve me. Just tell me everything that's going on in your mind, how you feel." she paused for a second, biting her bottom lip and pushing her little dark brown bob to the side. "I think that's where all our problems lied on. We weren't communicating which lead us to not know what we were thinking and feeling and this made us do things we didn't want or needed to do. This is what we really need to work on, Nathan. Don't shut me off again. I will always be there for you and I will always help you but to do that I need to know what you're feeling."

"You're right." he nodded, looking down and embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, Hales. I just..."

"Tell me. Why did you think you weren't worthy of me and Jamie? It's okay." she pushed her body against his and started caressing his cheek, letting him know she was right there. "You trust me, right?"

"Of course I do."

"Then that's all that matters. After that, you can tell me anything."

"I guess a part of me thought that I wouldn't be anything more than a disappointment to you. You loved to see me playing, on the court... And Jamie looked up to me because his dad was a star basketball player. When all of that ended, I lost myself. And I know you and Jamie don't love me because I play basketball but I just felt like I was such a mess that you just deserved someone in a better state of mind and that wasn't a disappointment. I now know how stupid I was being, Haley but I just wasn't thinking straight at that time." Haley was looking at him intently and he noticed how her eyes were shining with the tears that had begun to form.

"I'm just worried that I did something to make you think that." had she? She had been by his side all the time, she had guarenteed him her son and her loved him, no matter what.

"No, you didn't!" Nathan shook his head. "Haley, I've grown up around Dan Scott..." When Nathan paused, Haley intensified her caresses on his cheek.

"Go on. That's exactly what I want you to do." she smiled.

"All my life he made me believe I was never good enough and basketball was the only thing that made me believe I was good, that I could be better than him. And that feeling that I was great was lost along with basketball." his voice had sounded so broken that Haley couldn't help but look compassionately at him.

"So this is about Dan?"

"It's not about Dan but more how he always made me feel. That has always been something haunting me."

"I know. I just thought you already knew you are nothing like him or like the person he made you believe you were. You have always told me he didn't have an effect on you, not anymore."

"That's what I try to tell myself but sometimes, when I'm feeling insecure, it's like his face is right there and he's telling me how I suck and how I'll never be good enough. And I hate it, Haley. Because I know I'm good enough but I feel like this is something I'll always live with." It felt good letting all that out. He didn't know why he hadn't tell Haley this before but now that he let it all out, he felt better. Lighter. "All I know is that ever since I have you, those ghosts only appear in stages of my life where I'm feeling insecure, like the accident. And sometimes I let that consume me."

"Nathan, it doesn't matter what you do. You will always be good enough. I will always want you to be my husband and the father of my child. You will always be better than Dan. I just hate that sometimes you beat yourself up when you have no reason to do it. Dan isn't right, you know that, don't you?" she now grabbed his face in both her hands and looked straigh at him in the eyes. She needed to know he believed in himself.

"I do. Because of you." Haley didn't waste any time in hugging him as he placed his arms around her waist. She had taught him how to believe in himself and believing that he was good enough and worthy of everything he had. He knew that but sometimes his insecure side would emerge and prevail. Nothing that wasn't human, we all had our weak moments but the important was that he knew that he was valuable and loved by his family and friends.

"Don't you feel better?" she asked softly, still with her head resting on his chest.

"I do." he agreed. "I've been thinking about it and I'll talk to Jet Streamer when we get back."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I need to know what he has to say." Nathan paused. "And I'd like you to come with me. Will you?" Haley raised her head so she could look at his face.

"Of course I will", she assured him with a smile.

"Thank you." he said, to which Haley responded with a soft kiss on the lips. "We're getting there, aren't we, Hales? Please tell me you think the same.", of course she thought the same. She knew for a while now that they were going to be okay rather sooner than later. What they had just shared was a sign of it, they had communicated and understood the reason of their actions. That's where it all started. The major problem was figured out and they were both determined to work on it.

"We are", she smiled. "Actually there's something I've been thinking about and I wanted to tell you when we got back but now that we're talking... I was thinking that it could do us some good, individually and as a couple, if we started having therapy sessions. What do you think?" she asked expectantly. The idea had come to her mind a long time ago but with Nathan's recovery there never seemed to be a right time to do it. "It would be something temporary, just until we fully got back on track."

Nathan was surprised, he wasn't expecting that. Honestly, it seemed like something that could help them. "Sure. I'll do anything for us to be the couple we used to be. There's nothing I want more." This time it was his turn to kiss her lips and unlike the last time, he deepened the kiss instead of pulling away instantly. When they were finally breathless, they broke the kiss but their foreheads never stopped touching. "In fact, I want to ask you a really important question to make you..." he said in the most charming voice he could.

"Hmm and what would that be?" she used the same teasing tone. Nathan straightened up and took her hands in his.

"Haley James, do you want to go out on a date with me?" as soon as the words left his mouth, Haley started giggling, not believing what she had just heard.

"What?" she asked between laughter.

"You said you wanted to take things slow and I think that's what we need. So what about start from the very beginning?" when she realized he was actually not kidding, her expression immediately got serious.

"Do you really want to do this?" she asked him with a reluctant smile on her face.

"I told you, Hales. I want to do everything to help our marriage, us."

"I want that too" she nodded.

"Okay, then I'll ask again. Haley James, do you want to go out on a date with me?"

"Yes, I do. Very much." Not able to resist what the moment asked for, they kissed one again. This time more slowly and languid. "You know, we should really get some sleep now." Haley advised in between laughs when they broke up the kiss.

"Yeah, we have a long day tomorrow." They fixed themselves on the backseat. Nathan lied down on the seat and Haley lied on top of him, her head using his strong chest as pillow. "I love you." he said a while after they had closed their eyes.

"I love you too." and it was after hearing her words and feeling her soft fingers caressing the hair on the nape of his neck that Nathan fell asleep.

* * *

"Nathan! Haley!" Lucas, Peyton and Brooke's shouts didn't seem to have any response. When everyone had woken up, Nathan and Haley's absense was immediately noticed and while the others stayed at the chalet, the three were currently looking through the camp hoping to find their friends.

"They must be somewhere together." Peyton muttered.

"Mouth and Fergie slept on their tent, right? So they must have found out some other place to sleep in." Brooke stated.

"Well, they're obviously not here and they also weren't in the chalet... Where could they be?"

"They couldn't go too far."

"Let's just focus and keep looking, shall we?" Lucas suggested, interrupting the two girl's conversation.

After another 5 minutes looking around, they finally made it to the black SUV and they opened one of the back doors the sight left them rather surprised: Nathan and Haley were completely clinging to each other while sleeping.

* * *

"So, will you ever tell me what happened between you and Nathan last night?" a smile crept on her lips as soon as she heard Lucas's voice. The entire gang was finishing having lunch and Lucas caught the opportunity of Jamie dragging Nathan to play with him to ask his best friend what had happened between them last night. Nathan and Haley both seemed different. They had been together all the time and they were always giggling and what had seemed to him, even flirting. They obviously had a glow they didn't have before and after finding them completely glued to each other in the car, he knew something must have had happened.

Haley couldn't help the blush that start showing on her face and she closed her eyes while smiling, trying to make it go away. But this was Lucas, her best friend and her brother in-law. There was no use in trying to hide it, he'd see through her.

"We kissed", she stated happily.

"Wow. That's great, Hales!" he showed is enthusiasm for the news. It was about time, if you asked him.

"And we had a serious conversation about our marriage."

"And?"

"And we both know why all of this happened, we've identified the problems and we're working on correcting them."

"That's great. You know, he really has made up for what he did. I'm really happy for the both of you."

"Thanks, Luke." In the instant after, Josh came into the room with a what looked like a transparent ball in his hands.

"So, are you ready for the last challenge?"

* * *

Apparently, their last challenge included water. They were all by the lake and the first group reaching the other side of the lake would be the winner. The problem was that they wouldn't swimming... All the elements of each group were going to be put inside a giant air ball designed to stay afloat and they needed to find ways to get to the other side. Nathan though something like this would be piece of cake. Boy, was he wrong! Every time any of them moved, the ball would roll over and they'd all end up falling. But after a lot of laughter and fun, Nathan, Haley and Peyton finally made it and they were declared the winners.

"I swear I never had so much fun in my life!" Lucas stated ecstasically.

"That damn thing was always turning around!" Brooke joined in the laughter. Everyone seemed to be in a daze after that little adventure, especially Jamie who just wanted to go for another round.

"So according to my tables, the Yellow Group is the winner with 6 points!" Josh announced as Nathan, Haley and Peyton stepped forward as everyone clapped. Haley and Nathan picked Jamie up and gave him their plastic gold medals, leaving the boy radiant." Congratulations. "You have just won... a canoe ride!" They'd all be lying if they said they weren't expecting something different, because they were. But a canoe ride seemed pretty nice.

Later that day, Peyton had offered Nathan and Haley the canoe ride, insisting they needed to have fun together and since she was a never a fan of water or canoes, she had no problem giving up her prize. Josh had prepared the canoe for them and they had been riding the canoe for about fifteen minutes. They were sure they were not too far from the campground.

"It's so beautiful out here." Haley stated when they finally stoped, amazed at the view of the green mountains overall, with the sunset yellow/orange light turning it into an even more stunning landscape.

"Yeah, hell of a view." What Haley didn't know was that Nathan had said those words staring at her and not at the landscape before them. His wife had always been sexy but the way those short jeans fit her legs and that yellow top embraced her figure was driving him insane. When Haley finally turned her head, she saw Nathan staring at her and realized they hadnt been talking about the same thing.

"Nathan!" She boggled her eyes and swatted him on the shoulder.

"What? It's not my fault that you're sexy..." his husky tone didn't go unnoticed by her and she blushed, finding her feet suddenly too interesting. "I'm serious, Haley. You're the sexiest and hottest woman I've ever seen." he grabbed her hands and pulled her body to his.

"You're not so bad yourself." she replied using the same tone. This was something they more than familiar with them, flirting had always been a constant in their lives. He captured her lips and they both couldn't resist the want for one another. It had been like this all day. When no one was looking, Nathan had pulled Haley behind a tree or into bathrooms and had stolen her some kisses. "You do realize we look like two teenagers, don't you?" Haley asked in between giggles.

"I don't care. I can't get enough of you." he told her, kissing her again, this time more forcefully. When he finally let go, he looked intently at her and suddenly a smile appeared on his face. "You know what I was thinking?"

"What?"

"We could go for a swim." he told her with a grin on his face. Haley laughed, not disliking the idea at all. In fact, it had been so hot today that it didn't even look like just yesterday there was a raging storm.

"But we don't even have our swimsuits." Haley pointed out.

"It doesn't matter. We'll go in just like this." he said, opening his eyes.

"We could get sick."

"Haley, we're fifteen minutes away from the campground and have you realized how hot it is? Come on!" he pleaded. "Let's just do something wild."

Haley thought about it for a moment. The truth is that the water seemed like it was calling for her and the idea of them just having fun and forget about the rest of the world for a moment was amazingly appealing to her.

"Besides, there's something I want to show you." Nathan capted her attention once again and before she realized it, he was taking off his shirt. The sight of his chiseled and musculed bare chest left her speechless, like it always did and she immediately felt the heat start rising. His eyes were still glued to her and she wasn't getting what he was saying.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Scott?" she teasingly asked, not really understanding what Nathan was doing. He laughed and bit his bottom lip.

"It's not that", he said. Before Haley could say anything, he turned his right arm to her and that's when he noticed it. Three black letters were stamped at the top of his arm: _HJS_. Haley's mouth opened forming an "O" and she gulped, while looking surprised at him. Had he made a tattoo with her initials? When had this happened? Just the fact that he marked his body with something to do with her made her heart pound rapidly in her chest. She now understood why Nathan got so turned on whenever he'd see her _23_ tattoo. She was feeling the exact same way right now. There were no words to describe it. After her initial shock, she couldn't help but smile which just releaved Nathan. "Do you like it? I thought this was the best because at the same time it can mean "Haley James Scott", it can also be "Haley and Jamie Scott"." Haley never took her eyes out of his tattoo and when she travelled her eyes up to his, she threw herself into her arms, kissing him deeply. She tried to part his lips with her tongue, asking for permission that he quickly conceded and soon they started making out heavily.

"I can't believe you did this for me." she finally let out when they drew apart. She still couldn't believe it.

"Do you like it?" he asked once again although he already knew the answer.

"I love it." she kissed him softly once again. "When did you do this?"

"It was after you left. Whitey's niece made it to me."

"Whitey's niece does tattoos?" she asked, quite shocked.

"She does, although Whitey doesn't like it very much". they both laughed, imagining the coach's reaction to something like that. "Do you remember that time when you came over and helped me getting dressed?" Of course she did. She still had dreams about that day and how flushed she had been when his body had reacted to her.

"I do."

"Remember the patch I had on my shoulder?"

"Yes, you said Whitey had taken you to the hospital to make analysis..." as soon as Haley said that, she realized that the patch had been for the tattoo, it was in the exact same spot.

"He had taken me but the patch was for the tattoo. I didn't want to show you before it was completely ready." Haley laughed again, she hadn't even suspected of anything and the truth is that she really had no reasons to because she hadn't seen him shirtless ever since then.

"I can't stop looking at it", she muttered, this time passing his fingers through his bicep. Nathan felt the jolt of electricity and his entire body shivered at her touch. Nathan grabbed her hand and took it to her lips. Then Haley was attacking his mouth again. Nathan quickly put his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to him and before she knew it, he was lifting her up and pulling them to the water. Haley's screams were interrupted by the splash of the water and soon enough they both came to surface, with Haley throwing water at Nathan. "You could've at least warn me!" she shouted but laughed at the same time. Nathan caught her arms before she could throw anymore water and put his own around her. The movement made his tattoo come into view and Haley didn't think twice before kissing his bicep, right where her initials were. His whole body trembled and his instincts got the best of him and he started kissing her neck. She moaned at his touch and straightened her head so he would stop the ministrations. It still wasn't the time for that. She looked sadly into his eyes, telling him everything that she hoped he had caught.

"I'm sorry, Haley. I wasn't thinking." he apologized and she shut him up with a fierce kiss.

"One step at a time." she whispered before crashing his lips again, ready to get lost herself in him.


End file.
